My friend Tricia is racing in a charity triathlon in a few months. I was pleasantly surprised to see Tricia’s smiling face when I clicked on the donation link in the email. It adds a personal touch that I’m sure increases contribution rates.

It wasn’t long ago that charities refused to accept credit cards online and forced people to mail in checks, creating a significant barrier to contributing. Most charities have realized that the higher volume of frictionless online transactions more than make up for the costs of credit card processing and Web hosting.

Now I’ll be really impressed when a charity offers a module that Tricia can embed on her myspace page that shows her progress to the goal.