MySociety.Org, a nongovernmental organization based in the the United Kingdom, has created a global online solution called PledgeBank. It's a free service that allows you to register a pledge or to sign on to someone else's pledge.
At your request, PledgeBank will also notify you about new pledges that have been initiated in the region where you live. The projects range from the extremely local to the global.
I've thought of a few hypothetical situations in which PledgeBank could be used by supporters of nonprofit organizations:
"I will donate $1000.00 to my neighborhood association, but only if ten other people each donate $100.00"
"I will volunteer for that city-wide project, but only if five of my co-workers will also volunteer."
"My business will provide seeds for the community garden, but only if someone will provide a wheelbarrow."
"I will write to my state legislators about an important issue, but only if five hundred other voters will do the same."
The PledgeBank holds your commitment in a sort of moral (though not legally binding) escrow, and notifies you by email about whether the number of people that are needed have in fact made commitments to take action.
I often hear colleagues who manage community-based projects liken the task to that of herding cats. It will be interesting to see whether this intriguing tool will lighten the work by automating the process of finding out whether there's enough interest and commitment to advance the project. Nothing will ever completely free us from the need for hard work or from the possibility of failure in organizing community projects, but I'm enthusiastic about adding PledgeBank to my toolkit.
Special thanks are due to Andy Dearden, who urged MySociety's director, Tom Steinberg, to look me up during his visit to the Boston area. I had a wonderful time walking and talking with the latter.
UPDATE: See today's edition of the New York Times for an article on folksonomies that covers PledgeBank.
