In Austin at the South by Southwest Interactive conference the other day, I was hanging with my friend Sarah Vela, who brought me to a party, the “Entrepreneur’s Lounge.” Sarah’s an Austinite and knows people so she was introducing me to folks as we made our way through the cocktail crowds.

She introduced me to a guy named Thom Singer. Thom was a panelist at Southby, and we got into a conversation about fundraising through our online communities, something he knows a bit about.

If you read this blog or know me at all you’ve heard about Matt, my nephew, my Godson. I won’t go through his story again here, but please, go read about him. I’ll wait.

I’ve watched people raise money through Twitter for years. Sometimes thousands of dollars are raised in a day, sometimes just a few but I figured it was worth a shot. Over 1500 people follow me on Twitter, i have over 300 Facebook friends. Surely I could raise $500.

I wrote the post you just went and read, I set up a widget through ChipIn, and started trying to spread the word. Immediately I had some success and within a week I had almost $300.

But I wanted to raise $500. At least.

I know better than to bug my Twitter and Facebook friends over and over. I certainly don’t give to every cause that floats through my stream, even the personal ones, like this one. So I figured, I’m so grateful for those who gave, family, friends old and new, and a stranger or two, but I’ve hit a wall.

Still, it would be great to hit that $500 number. So I asked Thom, what about raising funds on a micro level?

I told him Matt’s story, and that I was trying to raise money. Not much, just enough to cover the cost of a wheelchair. A used wheelchair, purchased through Ebay, actually. Matt won’t need it long, he’s getting better every day, so the used wheelchair should be fine. But insurance doesn’t cover it.

Thom took a moment. He mentioned Twitter, I told him I’d had success but still hoped for more. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he became a man on a mission. He reached into his pocket and handed me a $20 bill. Surely, he said, in this room of people who are here to connect and exchange ideas- and money- we could raise that last $200. Right here, right now.

Thom began walking up to pockets of people. He’d begin telling Matt’s story, then introduce me and I’d finish it up. More people reached into their pockets, and handed me $20, $10, $2.

Others took my card and offered to spread the word to help send traffic to my little ChipIn widget. Whether they do or don’t isn’t really the point- Thom was able to get the story of Matt, an 18 year old kid from NJ who has nothing to do with the tech scene, into the ears of people who otherwise would never have heard of him.

We soon were only $30 short. Thom walked up to one more couple and they promised to go to my site and contribute $50. Thom had done it. We’d done it. The wheelchair is paid for thanks to friends, family… and complete strangers.

I called my sister and told her what had happened. I don’t think she really understood, but she was surprised and grateful and knew that Matt would be thrilled.

Two days after this all happened Matt was able to go home from the hospital, finally, after over two months. The chair is hopefully in transit- you know how these Ebay things can go.

And no matter what else came of this- I gained not only over $200 for my Godson, but new friends in Thom and all the people who trusted and gave a gift to a kid they’d never heard of.

Unfortunately I did a lousy job of keeping track of who was who- thankfully Thom named many of them in his blog post about this. When I got back to my hotel room and emptied my pockets there was a jumble of cash and business cards from the entire day so I had no idea which were from those who’d donated! My apologies- and heartfelt thanks.