Back to the Twestivel. How can Twitter, which is essentially pure communication, be harnessed for the good of a non-profit? Well, it relies on people following others that they either know in person or want to hear from. By tapping into people’s networks and promoting the idea of giving, Twestival turned posting a status update into a global action for good. Plus, Charity: Water, the host organization, was smart enough to move things off-line as well. They used the communications power of Twitter (and the vibe of a global community that entailed) to get folks all over the world to show up at parties on Feb 12 and they raised more then $250,000 with many cities still reporting in.

Check out the goals of the Twestival going forward:

Extra exciting from a giving to charity perspective: the little fact mentioned in the video is that all these small donations were going directly to funding the cause. Since Charity: Water gets their infrastructure funding from a few private donors, they can guarantee that 100% of what they raise goes directly to funding water projects. Which makes those Tweeters giving five dollars and talking about it feel extra special. Plus, they get national and international attention for being the first to harness the wave of Twitter for something philanthropic on this scale! And we all know that the press loves firsts…