As I've written  before, our generation of 'digital natives' is also using the internet to change public service.  Here are some innovative non-profits I’ve come across recently.     

Creative Commons
Operating under the motto of "share, remix, reuse – legally," Creative Commons seeks to further idea sharing and creative thinking by providing an alternative to traditional copyrights.  Founded in 2002 while Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig was arguing Supreme Court case Eldred v. Ashcroft, Creative Commons licenses fall between the private domain (all rights reserved) and the public domain (no rights reserved).  By selecting the degree of restriction, creators are able to maintain their rights while inviting derivative works based on their own.

Between 2006 and 2007 the number of works issued under a Creative Commons license was at least 50 million, with online partnerships with photo-sharing site Flickr and Yahoo! increasing visibility.  Though all forms of intellectual property are released under a CC license, there is a particularly thriving open music scene surrounding Creative Commons and the associated 'free culture' movement. 

Shesource.org 
The issue of women being underrepresented in mainstream media is a seeming Catch-22.  Female advocate groups say that having more high profile women on camera inspires younger girls to seek these positions.  Producers and hosts say that the reason they seldom interview women is because so few women occupy high positions.   

To The Women's Funding Network, The White House Project and Fenton Communications, the solution was simple: create a database where journalists and producers could access female experts. Journalists can search over 450 female experts from national security to science and technology.  Shesource.org will even email you the latest headlines with corresponding experts from their database to make the search easier.  Less than three years old, the site is already being used by top news outlets such as ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, and The New York Times to book speakers.

Related: The OpEd Project         

Donorschoose.org
While working at a public high school in the Bronx, Charles Best noticed two problems: shortage of adequate materials in public schools and donor dissatisfaction with lack of influence over charitable contributions.  With help from students and coworkers, Donorschoose.org launched in 2000.  Through its model of direct contribution to a project, or ‘citizen philanthropy,’ sponsors choose a specific project they want to support, with options ranging from pencil donations to field trips.

Donorschoose.org has two fundamental principles: accountability and engagement.  Each project is screened before going online, and materials are purchased for the teacher and shipped directly to the school.  Afterward, a package of photographs, thank you notes, and a letter which details the impact on the classroom are delivered to the project’s donor.  Honored by Ashoka and Amazon.com’s Nonprofit Innovation Awards, the organization has helped almost 46,000 teachers in over 14,000 public schools across the United States.  Expect this organization to keep up its exponential growth – 2008 has been its eighth consecutive record-breaking year.     

Further Reading:

Better Place

The 59 Smartest Orgs Online

Echoing Green's 2008 Public Service Fellows