Facebook Cofounder Launching Volunteer Site

Chris Hughes (pictured), who launched Facebook in 2004 with his Harvard roommate Mark Zuckerberg and then My.BarackObama.com for the the presidential nominee, has announced the soft launch of Jumo.com, a social networking site connecting people with volunteer opportunities.

Jumo, which means "together in concert" in the African language Yoruba, is described as an attempt to combine philanthropy, volunteerism, and social networking. According to the site, volunteers are matched with causes they are most likely to commit to in order "to foster lasting relationships and meaningful action."

In an e-mail blast sent Thursday morning, Hughes wrote that the site would launch with its full capabilities this fall, but he "wanted to let you know that we're officially getting underway."

So far he's raised $500,000 from individuals and foundations, money he plans to use to further development and build the site's staff, according to The Huffington Post. While he will stay on board with Facebook, his main focus will be on the start-up. He calls Jumo a new initiative that will replace the old ways of organizing.

"Too often, when people think about helping the world, they think of a photo of a hungry, malnourished African kid, send $10 and call it a day," Hughes said. "That's the old model. There are lot of people across America and in other countries who want to help, and I would argue that the Internet has not caught up with them. So the goal for us is to build a central place where individuals can come in and discover and organization or an issue that's personally relevant to them. And then connect."