Take a quick drive across town or a stroll down the street—chances are you’ll encounter someone raising awareness for a cause he or she cares about. From a bumper sticker promoting animal rights to a pink ribbon for breast cancer to the “Livestrong” or “ONE” bracelet you’re wearing as you read this post, we are constantly getting the word out to raise awareness for a variety of causes.

Awareness-raising is a worthy activity unto itself, but the reality is that awareness without action results in little change. After all, awareness is supposed to inspire people to act!

I recently created a Firstgiving page to fundraise for Blood:Water Mission, an organization that partners with communities in Africa to provide clean water solutions for thousands of people who don’t have access to this vital resource. I sent my page out to everyone on my email list, and within 5 minutes, a friend of mine had donated and sent me an email which read: “I took an econ seminar about water in college and was amazed at how big of a problem this is/will be.” My Firstgiving page provided an easy way for my friend to contribute to a cause he was already aware of and interested in supporting. Clearly awareness and action are a powerful combination.

The exciting thing about Firstgiving fundraising pages is that they allow you to raise awareness for a cause you care about and provide an immediate course of action so that your friends can respond. That’s efficient and effective!