Jeans for Genes goes for Google Maps mashup to support its annual fundraising appeal
Howard Lake | 16 September 2007 | Blogs
Jeans for Genes, who organise the annual fundraising day when you get to wear your jeans at work or school in exchange for a donation in support of seven of the UK’s medical charities, has unveiled a Google Maps mashup at the site denimisethenation.com to show who across the country is taking part.
For anyone new to the term, a ‘mashup’ is a hybrid web application that combines data and/or functionality from more than one source. The Google Maps API is one of the most popular mashup interfaces, as it enables data from any source (so long as it has a geographic reference) to be displayed as an interactive map.
In the case of Jeans for Genes, as well as adding your location – shown by a denim patch – you can also leave a comment saying what you’ll be doing. The site can be searched by city, postcode, organisation or name to see who else is getting involved and there are plenty of clear links to the main fundraising site. Overall, it’s a really effective way to illustrate the breadth of the campaign and make individuals participating really feel that they’re part of something on a national scale.
Other UK nonprofit organisations using a Google Maps mashup include the NSPCC with its Be the Full Stop site and The Museum of London with Map my London.
While in the US, Lucy Bernholtz reports on her Philanthropy 2173 blog that there is also a Guidestar Google Maps mashup and another from volunteering organisation VolunteerMatch showing locations of opportunities to volunteer.
Anyone know of any other nonprofit mashups? Let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.