Good day social change makers! 

My name is Natalie Villalobos and I'm the founder of 300 Acres - a project that is attempting to raise $70,000 in 30 days to save 300 acres of ancestral land for the Shuar/Quichua people in Puyo, Ecuador.

We started the project this past Monday, March 5th and will give our biggest outreach push and donation raising through April 5th. We only have until April 5th to attain these funds or the land will be purchased by a development group that is interested in dividing the land - potentially cutting down the old growth trees, and starting a gold mining enterprise. This of course is explicitly against the wishes of the native people of this region.

Starting this Friday, the NetSquared team will be at the South By Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas. The SXSWi conference is an opportunity for online media experts to get together for in-person networking and learning. If you're going to be there, we'd love for you to get in touch. Here's what we'll be up to:

Over the next two days, key influencers from around Britain and around the world are at the National Digital Inclusion Conference organizing and planing for digital inclusion in the UK. You can take part by watching the live video stream and sharing your opinions on Twitter.

The Social Media for Social Good collection from NTEN and NetSquared calls for your case studies in leveraging social media tools in your program work.

Social Media for Social Good

Everywhere you turn, you’re hearing about social media. Especially when it comes to fundraising. But at NTEN and NetSquared, we know that social media is good for a lot more than raising money. We know that social media can be used to change the world. That’s why we’re launching the Social Media for Social Good case study collection!

OpenKollab is developing infrastructure and processes to support its larger mission of Connecting Projects To Solve Massive Social Problems. In service of this larger end, we are developing the Ecosystem Pooled Fund initiative, the objective of which is to develop a model to provide financing to early stage social entrepreneurs (those that are developing projects that delivery both social value and financial return). As you likely know, there is a gap in the funding landscape that makes it very hard for social entrepreneurs to raise seed funds. The gap exists due to the fact that social ventures typically carry high risk but don't necessarily carry high enough financial return to offset this risk since they are not solely focused on financial return.

This post is cross-posted from the #4Change blog here.

Running campaigns in support of one or many great causes can be very time consuming and demanding for all of those who are determined to make a change. It seems easier in the beginning when a fresh campaign for a cause is just launched – supporters are jumping on board, influencers are engaged, buzz is flying about, awareness is spreading, change is happening. But what happens when the social magic begins to wear off and change starts to feel more like a chore then a contribution?

Over the last week, technology has played an unprecedented role in bringing aid to and saving lives in Haiti. Over $22 million has been raised by the American Red Cross via text message (about a fifth of total Haiti-related giving to the organization so far). And then there's the role that Facebook and Twitter are playing.

The 3rd Digital Media and Learning Competition, from the MacArthur Foundation, is now accepting applications. In partnering with the White House, National Lab Day, and videogame makers Sony and EA, the Digital media and Learning Competitions has prizes up to $200,000 and is open to all kinds of innovative projects (including games) that make use of digital media for education and social change. Submissions close January 22, 2010.

Learn more and apply today!

Interested in traveling with a purpose? Do the problems of poverty and international cooperation seem overwhelming at times? Want to make a positive, sustainable impact on our world while challenging yourself? THEN JOIN US

Web of Change is an upcoming gathering (Sep 23rd - 27th) that brings together the social change and technology community - on an intimate Island retreat in British Columbia - to share their world-class work, ideas, and inspiration with a powerful community of deeply committed peers.

The Web of Change team also just offered 10 Scholarship opportunities!

You can fill out the scholarship form for your chance to receive free tuition. Scholarship Applications are due by midnight PST, Thursday August 20th.