Amy Sample Ward with Netsquared wrote a good roundup in February 2010 of the social media response to the Haiti earthquake in January. She writes that “the way we think about and turn to social media in a time of disaster is changing.” Amy’s article discusses how mobile technology is impacting the process of mapping, fundraising, and missing persons.

$27 million was raised via mobile fundraising in a couple of weeks, which is a sea-change in how donors are using their mobile phones for giving. Clearly mobile fundraising is a new contender in the evolution of digital fundraising, and is being used most effectively for  urgent fundraising campaigns (disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis) and also stadium events (SuperBowl, concerts, etc).

Read The Social Media Response to Disaster in Haiti

Mobile Commons reported in mid-August on an article in Mobile Marketer that looked at how mobile technology was being used to help pass health care reform legislation. Labor unions, large national advocacy groups, small local non-profits, and faith-based community organizations are using mobile to reach out to their supporters around the issue of health care reform.

Here’s a sampling of how Mobile Commons customers have been using mobile technology around this critical issue:

* NARAL Pro Choice sent messages to thousands of people, urging them to sign an online petition to keep anti-choice extremism out of health care legislation bills
* LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan sent a recorded audio message to union members asking for their help passing healthcare reform Bill 3200
* True Majority sent a text message broadcast asking people to call their Senators before they went on summer recess and pass health care reform
* PACT in San Jose used SMS to organize supporters on the ground and get them to a press conference at Congresswoman Lofgren’s office
* Center for Community Change has sent hundreds of thousands of calls to the White House and Congress over immigration issues, including health care reform. They’ve also targeted Congresswoman Pelosi directly, urging her to end the 5 year ban on immigrant health care
* The League of Young Voters in Maine used SMS to organize supporters on the ground, getting people to meet at Monument Square in Portland to fight for health care reform
* PICO National Networks sent SMS invitations, both in English and in Spanish, to a web site where users could listen in on a call between President Obama and the Faith Community. Over 140,000 people joined the call

Read the full Mobile Commons article