Are There Enough Altruists to Profit From?

While activism is virtually synonymous with “not-for-profit,” a San Francisco startup called Virgance has begun a slew of campaigns that aim to make money off of activism. As reported in The Economist, one campaign is a “green venture fund” on Facebook where users can invest their money (as little as $100), with Virgance getting a portion of the returns.
But can Virgance find enough do-gooders in the midst of a recession? In other words, how is the altruist market doing?
According to this Reuters article, charitable contributions are down in the U.S. only “modestly” so far this year. But charitable giving, unlike the stock market, is a lagging indicator.
Open question to our readers: how has your charitable giving and/or activism changed in light of the recession? To those of you working less than before, have you filled in those hours with volunteer work, e.g.?