In 2008 I was lucky to find many ways to give back to my community and my favorite charities. Not only that, I was introduced to your favorite charities and given ways to help them out as well. This was all made possible by the power of the internet and social media. As part of that, Mashable lent me their platform and readers to kick off a Real World Change 2.0 series on all of the ways we could support social giving and become involved in our community.

The final installment of the series on Mashable hit today, a list of places where people with tight budgets can find a way to give back, whether it is 50 cents or thousands of dollars. These are called microdonations, and you can see 8 popular microdonation sites and some of the related charities, such as Well Wishes, SM4SC (Social Media 4 Social Change) and The Staley Foundation there as well to find out how, and who, you can help. The full article on microdonations is here.

The Real World Change 2.0 Series covered a variety of topics in 2008 over on Mashable. The complete Real World Change 2.0 Series by topic, in reverse order:

HOW TO: Give Back With Social MicroFunding in 2009

Change.org Social Action Blog Network Announcement

SocialVibe Helps You Make a Difference With Sponsored Social Giving Network

Social Actions and TwitterFeed Mash Things Up for Social Change

Drive Money to Your Cause With Social Media

How to Start a Local Support System Using Social Media

Social Media for Real World Social Change

The remainder of the Real World Change Series will continue here on Uptown Uncorked in 2009 and beyond. It’s a topic near and dear to my heart, and I am so happy the folks at Mashable thought it was important enough to let me kick start it over there. If you have a favorite charity, a social giving campaign, or any other innovative, new or different social media and giving news or ideas you’d like featured, please let me know by email or on Twitter.

Future Real World Change 2.0 Series posts will include ways social media is helping farmers and rural agriculture survive and thrive, global social giving, how to use social media to find or start charities, and much more. I hope to see us all giving back time, money, food, or whatever we can in 2009.