When you think of Facebook, you may only think of the innovative way to keep in touch with long-lost friends, far away family members, or establishing yourself in a business sense. However, there is more to Facebook than meets the eye.

Facebook provides a venue for a number of charities to reach over 300 million users with their message and solicitations of help that require small action on the part of the participant, whether it be from simply clicking on an advertisement on Facebook or filling out a survey that takes only minutes of time. Most people are more than willing to help out, but in these busy days it can be difficult to find the time or the hard cash, and Facebook has many fan pages of charities that can help people to fulfill their wishes to contribute.

Image Credit The ASPCA Facebook Fanpage

Charities from the ASPCA and Humane Society to the Susan G. Komen For The Cure have active fan pages on Facebook, as well as the Ronald McDonald House. Facebook has itself established a page titled “Facebook For Good” which lists the many charities for which one can donate as well as providing a venue for updates from the charities involved.

Image credit Susan G. Komen For The Cure

Even the smaller charities benefit from a wide audience with Facebook fan pages. Good Samaritan, Good Vibe, iRipple, and Good Search are just a few examples of successful charities that have utilized the power of Facebook to keep their non-profit endeavors alive. With the economy struggling, more and more people are in need, and a Facebook presence not only helps the charity raise money, it also raises awareness for a variety of different causes and provides information to people who may need their services.

Image Credit Ronald McDonald Charities Facebook FanPage

Since most applications require very little time from Facebook users in order to raise money, more people are willing to click an ad or fill out a survey to add pennies to the pot. With over 300 million users to date, Facebook is giving a boost to all charities with minimal investment and cost to both the charity and the Facebook users both.

Many offer badges that can be displayed on a user’s Facebook profile, and participants are urged to pass the message along to their friends list. Spreading the word on Facebook and soliciting donations has reduced overhead costs for the charities, money better spent on the important work they are trying to accomplish.

If you have a Facebook account, the next time you’re clicking around or playing one of the entertaining games they offer, check out the Facebook For Good fan page and see what you can do to support your favorite charity. Most involvement takes less time than it does to plant a farm on Farmville, and you will be doing a good thing for not only the Facebook community, but for the greater community as a whole.

We’ve learned over the last few years that Twitter is an effective tool for marketing, communicating, and even politics, so it makes sense that charity might soon follow into this realm. Twitter has recently partnered, for the first time, with a charity in participation in what Twitter founders call a Corporate Social Innovation initiative. What this means is that Twitter is actually teaming up with Room to Read. Room to Read is a non-profit based in San Francisco (just like Twitter) that helps educate children in developing countries.

Here’s where the partnership with Room to Read gets even more interesting. The micro-blogging site will also work with Crushpad, a San Franciscan custom winery to develop a Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir. Crushpad is providing the winemaking facility and their expertise in the industry. The grapes will be harvested and made into wine in California’s Napa Valley.

The collaboration between Twitter and Crushpad seems like a match made in cyberspace when you think about it. Crushpad actually lets wine enthusiasts create their own barrels of wine without having to own their own vineyard. The company provides the grapes, expertise, equipment, storage, and bottling for its clients and allows them to either check in personally or via Internet and video messages. Their set up is not unlike Twitter in which collaborations can be made from great distances.

The grapes for the wines are currently at the Crushpad facility and are ready for fermentation. In early 2010 there will be a few barrel tastings as well as mailed samples. Tasters will definitely tweet about their experiences and share their opinions on the social platform. No one could have planned this better – a tech savvy wine and a tech savvy social community coming together for a great cause!

The wine, bottled under the name Fledgling Wine, is due to release in the fall of 2010. The release will coincide with Room to Read’s 10th anniversary of promoting literacy around the world. The partnership seems to make perfect sense – wine is incredibly popular these days and Twitter is currently the hottest techie trend on the Web with no signs of a slowdown.

What this charitable partnership means is that we’ll be getting a wine with a little character – as much as 140 characters, that is! Though this social winemaking project is the first of its kind, Twitter is no stranger to charitable tweets. Since its inception, Twitterers have used the social platform to not only bring attention to various issues but also to raise money for said causes.

Twitter will tweet all about the winemaking process and document its progress for anyone who chooses to follow. Followers will also be able to pre-order bottles during the project, at a cost of $20, and $5 from every bottle sold will go directly to Room to Read. This means that for every case sold, about 60 language books will be provided. Kids all over the world will be able to learn to read with Twitter’s help.