httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAf4507-cA0

SM: Hi I’m Simon Mainwaring and I’m here with Katya Andresen, who is the COO of Network For Good. She is doing a wonderful outreach on behalf of the victims of the Tsunami in Japan. Tell us about what NFG is doing in a fundraising capacity.

KA: Network for Good makes it easy to give to any of the charities that are providing relief for the victims of the Japanese quake and Tsunami. What’s really exciting is being able to give from anywhere on the Internet, so if you happen to be on AOL or Yahoo today and you see a news story, click on ‘How to Help’ and it takes you right to our site to give. We’re also backing Causes on Facebook and Crowdrise, so you can take action there. So wherever you are online, I encourage you to click through and provide help to those who need it.

SM: When people donate, they want to make sure that their contribution will be effective.  Exactly where will their money go?

KA: One of the things that Network for Good does is work with the charities to determine who is actually providing aid on the ground, who is verified to go in and help, and who is in good standing with the IRS. We have a list of fully embedded charities on our site that you can pick from. For example American Red Cross or Oxfam. Or you can click our ‘give to all’ button, and we will send the money to the charities who are receiving the most donations and who are providing relief on the ground.

SM: Why is it so urgent now?  Why should people make the effort to reach out on any one of these platforms to make a donation?

KA: Well, as the Japanese government has said, this is one of the worst events ever to strike the country.  In fact, they’re comparing it to the devastation of WWII. I think when you see that scale of human need, it is our duty as human beings to step in and help. Imagine what it would be like in our country if a wave came in and washed away six miles of land and all these people lost their homes and our infrastructure was badly affected.  We need to step in and help our brothers and sisters in Japan.

SM: Depending on where people surf the web, what are the best places they can contribute.

KA: One place is at networkforgood.org.  They can also give on Crowdrise or on Facebook—just search for ‘tsunami’ or ‘Japanese quake.’  I would also like to say: For any of readers who are with corporations, if you would like to enable giving on your own site, or perhaps create ways to embed opportunities to help victims, these are things we can help with too.  We can give easy donation links for anyone to put on their own websites, just like we did with Yahoo. If you visit Yahoo, you can see there is a giving page set up using Network For Good’s platform.

SM: Is there a link you’d like to provide for corporations who are interested?

KA: Just go to networkforgood.org, click on ‘partners’.  There is a form you can fill out and I will get back to you and make sure you can help.

SM:  Thank you so much for your time, Katya. The work NFG is doing is incredibly meaningful. Let’s hope the We First community rallies to the cause and contributes what they can.  Thanks so much.

You can also follow Network for Good on twitter here and Katya here for updates on the relief efforts.