Social media applications, such as Facebook and Twitter, are expanding beyond their utility of connecting with friends and being used to encourage people to donate blood.

S3 has been named agency of record for Autism Partnership, a nonprofit providing intensive behavior intervention for children with autism and their families. S3's responsibilities will include integrated marketing, PR and fundraising efforts to expand awareness of and support for Autism Partnership, which was founded in 1994.

The Peace Corps has retained BBDO Atlanta for its advertising responsibilities, after its five-year contract expired and a review process was required by the government. The review process for the nonprofit account, which involved other undisclosed agencies, involved a paper panel, a technical review and creative capability.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a charitable funder and advocate of Type 1 diabetes research, has chosen LW Robbins Associates to manage the organization's direct response donor relationship program.

USA Today uses online chatter for banner ads; CarGurus take community to Facebook; and Foundation for Jewish Camp uses e-mail to help families find camp grants.

As search engine marketing (SEM) matures, direct sales and branding continue to be the top objectives, according to findings of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization's (SEMPO) State of the Market survey for 2007.

Mobile Loaves and Fishes and Trisomy 18 Foundation, along with a handful of other nonprofits, have deployed Convio Inc.'s Aikido CRM platform. Aikido, Convio's new, Web-based, on-demand program, tracks all constituent interactions across all channels for nonprofit clients.

MTV launched an inter­national cause-related marketing campaign last week encouraging youths to speak openly about sex and HIV/AIDS. The effort is built upon Spin­Vox technology that lets con­sumers convert voice messages into digital text.

Names in the News has been awarded management of the Southern Poverty Law Center donor file. The Southern Poverty Law Center's legal department fights discrimination. Its Intelligence Project monitors more that 800 hate groups and tracks extremist activity nationwide.

L.L. Bean and more than 200 other catalog merchants are using Catalog Choice as part of their overall strategy to respond to customers' mail preferences. With more consumers expressing concern about the amount of direct mail delivered to their mailboxes, the number of mail preference services has grown.