In the past 10 years, the Internet has brought us Facebook, YouTube, dancing babies and keyboard cats. It's also made it easier for us to file taxes, pay bills and purchase gifts. Forget Second Life -- the Internet is many people's first life.

So it should come as no surprise that a growing number of people are also turning to the Internet to give a little something back. According to the most comprehensive study to date of online giving in the charitable sector by nonprofit services provider Blackbaud, the percentage of total fundraising that comes from online giving grew to 7.6 percent in 2010. While that may not seem like much, it's a 34.5 percent jump from the previous year and represents billions of dollars [source: Blackbaud]. Online giving is expected to track the trends of online shopping and banking, so it's easy to see why charities are eager to establish a Web presence [source: Network for Good].

But why limit oneself to monetary donations? Today's Internet-savvy do-gooder has a wide variety of options to choose from when feeling the urge to make a difference. From tweeting about social justice to mentoring via Skype, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can pay it forward. In fact, sometimes it requires little more than a literal lift of the finger.