Star power: eBay founder's investment fund to bankroll Facebook co-founder's social network

Image: www.Jumo.com

Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, announced on Tuesday that it is giving a grant of 750,000 to cause based social networking site Jumo.

Started by Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes, Jumo is a (yet to be launched) online platform that aims to connect individuals and organizations looking to change the world. The site's benefits are intended to flow both ways: individuals find an organized means to further the causes they are passionate about, while organizations can harness the expertise and funds of individuals who have a vested interest in their particular subject area. Announced in March of this year, Jumo means "together in concert" in a Yoruba, a West African language.

A Harvard graduate, the 26 year old Hughes is not only credited for his work on Facebook but was also reputedly in charge of My.BarackObama.com, the online organizing site for Obama’s 2008 presidential candidacy.

While there's no dearth of cause based social networks out there--think Network for Good, Amazee, Change.org or even just the Causes application on Hughes's progeny, Facebook--there's no household name in the cause based social networking sphere as yet, leaving the possibility open that Jumo could be it.