Nonprofit organizations stand to benefit from inexpensive new technology if they use it to make their Web sites more interactive and open, writes Jamie Holaday, an employee of Blackbaud, a provider of nonprofit software, on the company’s blog.

As an example, Ms. Holaday points to Jesuits of the California Province, a Blackbaud customer, which allows its online visitors to compose multimedia prayers, listen to or download podcasts, join discussion boards, read blogs, or listen to music composed by Jesuits.

While many Web sites offer blogs or music, Ms. Holaday says, the Jesuits’ site stands out because it allows visitors to communicate directly with each other or with members of the order through the Web site.

Ms. Holaday writes that she visited other charities’ sites, but found that their stories of people and volunteers touched by the organization “had pretty much all gone through marketing first. What I was hoping for was a direct voice of organization members and volunteers.”

By contrast, the Jesuit site tries to enable current and new constituents to communicate with the organization “as soon as they enter the site,” she says. “This means that surfers are connecting at a person-to-person level with real, unedited people,” Ms. Holaday writes. “And that makes a big difference.”

What do you think? Have you come across charity blogs that do an effective job of connecting with readers? Click on the comments link below this post to share your examples.