From causes to cause.(FACEBOOK)

What once was the largest Cause on Facebook has morphed into its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The Campaign for Cancer Research became Support the 0 Campaign for Cancer Prevention this past February.

"There was such organic growth in membership, and it was such a unique opportunity that we established a 501(c)(3)," said Eric Ding, who originally created the cause with donations to benefit Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The Cause is among the largest groups on Facebook, both by number of members but also in terms of fundraising (more than $87,000).

In addition to raising money for cancer research, Ding might launch a cancer study directly from the membership of the Cause, examining risk factors, understanding lifestyles and behaviors.

Older people are joining the social networking site but the Facebook demographic remains fairly young and doesn't exactly have deep pockets, which is why Ding views the application's social capital as being almost more important than fundraising. With 4.7 million members in his Cause, Ding can blast emails, post to a message board and interact, "you almost can't pay a million dollars for an audience like that," he said. "It's that intrinsic capital."

The administrator of any Cause can send as many as three email announcements a week to its entire membership. Ding compared it to the power of media: A newspaper costs pennies to print, but its reach is social capital and the intrinsic value within an article published in a publication like The New York Times.

Facebook is the most popular social network worldwide on the Internet, recently surpassing 200 million members. The Causes application, which is two years old, allows members to create and join Causes, and select nonprofit organizations to benefit from donations made through the application. Donations are processed by Bethesda, Md.-based Network For Good, which takes 4.75 percent of each donation.

There are thousands of Causes on Facebook. Some are serious, like A World Without Breast Cancer, with donations from its 1.2 million members benefiting Sloan-Kettering Breast Cancer Research Center. Some are not as serious, like Save Scott Baio's Career and any number of the Save Water. Drink Beer or Save Water. Shower Together Causes.

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