I love the fact that charities are embracing technology to make their job easier.

Anything that makes it easier for me to donate and participate when it’s convenient for me, and gets rid of the swarms of backpackers collecting for commission in Martin Place, makes my day better.

As such the recent work by local startups in the charity space is very pleasing indeed.

SMSPoll (35th in our July’08 Aussie Startup Index) has announced a partnership with leading charity consultants, Pareto Fundraising, that will see a number of local charities using SMSPoll’s innovative offering to better engage with their membership and identify potential new donors. Pareto’s clients include Cancer Council, Amnesty International Australia, National Heart Foundation of Australia, Médecins Sans Frontières and CanTeen.

It’s a nice pickup for SMSPoll who, after launching less than a month ago, continue to generate good traction with Educators, Event Planners, Promoters and Corporations. The company has also been selected as one of NSW’s top ten finalists in Pitch 08.

This also comes on top of Anthill Magazine Top 30 Under 30 member, and daughter of former PM Paul Keating, Alexandra Keating’s fund-raising site - Go Fundraise - which aims to make it as easy as possible for charities and community organisations (small and large) to engage with the public online.

I’ve always thought there has to be a better way than sticking people in Koala suits on corners. Glad to see that people are out there doing something about it.