And now for something completely different...

iLoveMountains.org has put in place an interesting friend-raising widget... It's called "Blogger's Challenge." The idea is to engage bloggers in their cause -- ending mountaintop removal mining and the resulting valley fill-in.

At iLoveMountains.org, bloggers are encouraged to sign up to spread the word. Signing up gets the blogger a "badge" for their blog site (see mine, to the right of this column.) On the badge, there is the opportunity for blog readers or other bloggers to sign up. And, the blogger's impact is measured in immediate terms, displaying how many others the blogger has brought on board, and even supplying a "personal page," graphically describing the circle of influence.

It's a great friend raising idea, particularly for hot-topic issues like environmental activism. By engaging bloggers, the distance to "going viral" is shortened. And, after the friend raising goal is accomplished, the distance to fund raising is also shortened considerably.

I confess to being a certified tree-hugging environmentalist, so the sell to me was simple. I came across the opportunity quite by accident, but was hooked immediately. Now, I have one more differentiator out on my page -- and one that will also help track visits to my site.

It's different. It's separated from actual fund raising. But it could lead to significant awareness raising, and, ultimately, fund raising.

If you represent a charity, what ideas like "Blogger's Challenge" do you use?