Here's a cool idea for adoption fundraising from adoptive mom, Beth Kanter: A Widget Campaign. A widget is simply a graphical gadget (in this case, a fundraising progress meter) that even non-techies can easily embed on a blog or Web site.

Beth Kanter, the mother of two children adopted from Cambodia, writes on her blog:

When we adopted our beautiful children, we also adopted their birth country. We have embraced Khmer culture and we also feel a responsibility to give something back to the country, particularly to seriously disadvantaged children in Cambodia. Soon after coming home with our first child nearly seven years ago, I volunteered for the Sharing Foundation, an ngo that works directly with local officials, orphanages, and NGOs in Cambodia to identify and carry out projects which improve the lives of children. I now serve on the board.

She explains that the Sharing Foundation works to create and improve educational opportunities for Cambodian children of all ages, including public school projects, pre-school, Khmer literacy, English language instruction, high school and college sponsorships, and vocational training.

Beth's family contributes $750 annually to sponsor an orphan's college education through the Sharing Foundation. She created the Sharing Foundation widget using ChipIn, a Web-based service that provided her with a widget that displays her monetary goal, how much money has been raised, and the date her fundraising campaign ends.

ChipIn does not charge any fees for organizers and contributors of events which raise less than $10,000. ChipIn processes and tracks all contributions, which can be made via PayPal or any major credit card. ChipIn users can have the funds directly deposited into their bank accounts, receive a check after the fundraising event is completed, or deposited to whatever PayPal account you specify.

Beth lists the names of donors to her widget campaign on her blog.

Beth's latest project was to set up a charity badge at Network for Good to support the Sharing Foundation's educational programs. You can upload personal photos, text, and video on them.

Beth writes:

You can select the recipient from the charities registered on Network for Good. The main incentive for me to set this up was that you can also create it through Yahoo!’s Network of Giving campaign and the Sharing Foundation could receive up to $50,000 in matching funds, plus publicity on Yahoo!’s web site.