Using the microfinance paradigm that has lifted millions out of poverty worldwide, two Seattle-based nonprofit organizations are hoping to bring responsible, transparent philanthropy to the masses.

The Jolkona Foundation and SeeYourImpact are banking on social networking platforms and mobile technology to get a larger, younger audience interested in giving. In the age of constant connections and instant updates, they say, donors will be more willing to give if they can see the effect that their contributions are having in the field. By targeting a less affluent but more web savvy demographic, both organizations are hoping to connect a new generation of donors with ongoing aid projects across the globe.

SeeYourImpact was founded by former Microsoft executive Scott Oki and software entrepreneur Digvijay Chauhan, both of whom have extensive experience working with traditional nonprofits. Visitors to the site can pinpoint ongoing aid projects from a massive international database based on their particular philanthropic interests, the duration of the project and how much they would like to give. Want to help a child, but are running low on cash? You can donate $11 to pay for a child’s health care costs in India. Interested in empowering the physically challenged? You can give $30 to fund a cataract surgery.

Once the donations are made, agents on the ground use camera phones to document the projects, allowing donors to see their money in action. In an interview with The Seattle Times last week, Oki said, “If they can actually see the impact of a $17 gift on a human life somewhere around the world, I believe that will open up the floodgates of hundreds of millions of micro-donors impacting the hundreds of millions of needy people around the world.”

Similar to online microfinance platform Kiva, the Jolkona Foundation (which means “drop of water” in Bengali) presents donors with a comprehensive report detailing exactly where the funds are going. Founded by Adnan Mahmud and Nadia Khawaja, his wife who is currently a grad student at the University of Washington, Jolkona has partnered with 19 of nonprofits around the globe with the goal of mobilizing youth to get involved with community development projects. Using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, Jolkona hopes its donors will be able to connect online and form a strong, youth-based philanthropic community. No more will donations be emptied into a nonprofit “black hole,” Mahmud says, the generation of philanthropists expect to see tangible results.