The Seattle Foundation, under the leadership of the city’s former mayor, is seeking to broaden its pool of supporters from hundreds of wealthy donors to hundreds of thousands of residents of the region, according to The Seattle Times.

Norm Rice, who served two terms as mayor from 1989 to 1997, took office in July as head of the organization, the country’s fifth-largest community foundation, with assets of $570-million and some 1,200 philanthropic funds under its umbrella.

As part of the outreach effort, the foundation will begin accepting online donations and is outfitting its Web site with detailed profiles, reviews, and Amazon-style recommendations of the programs and nonprofit organizations.

See this article from the latest issue of The Chronicle about other community funds that are creating online town squares to help charities attract support.

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