The Latest on Jumo

Last fall, I blogged about the launch of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes' nonprofit social networking site, Jumo. Since then, over 15,000 nonprofits and NGOs have created profiles on the Facebook-intertwined Beta site. Kerry A. Dolan interviewed Hughes and reported yesterday on the website's progress for Forbes:

Hughes envisions large corporations using Jumo as a way to communicate positive news about a particular NGO in Mexico, say, or news about groups doing great work in sustainability. Think large, global organizations like Procter & Gamble (PG) or Wal-Mart (WMT). "We’re just beginning to talk with the large corporations of the world," Hughes said.

The benefit of Jumo is the network effect: If a Facebook user interacts with one of the Jumo-connected nonprofits, all those user’s followers are notified within Facebook. The idea is to engage a broader but connected audience with work that a nonprofit is doing. Hughes said so far, several hundred thousand people have found organizations through the Jumo platform.

Jumo has raised over $3 million in development capital, including significant gifts from Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Hughes plans to make the site self-sustaining by asking Facebook users to tip the site when they make donations to Jumo-connected charities.

Read Dolan's story here.