Has Andy Carvin found the future of fundraising by using his personal brand to generate donations for NPR?

Former Benton Foundation staffer Andy Carvin has spent much of the past 18 days curating news and information about the protests in Egypt, at times sending more than 400 tweets a day. Now he’s using his personal brand to generate donations to local NPR stations.

Just before President Hosni Mubarak resigned, Carvin tweeted: “Wanna support my #egypt tweeting? Pls donate to your NPR station then tweet amount & station w/ tag #gave4andy. PLS RT” He tweeted this, he said, in response to all the people who had thanked him for his tweets throughout the past few weeks. “Some have said I was like a human news wire, and that was their main source of information during Tunisia and Egypt’s revolutions,” Carvin said by e-mail. “Others said I was playing the role a broadcast anchor would've played if this had happened 30 to 40 years ago, pulling snippets of info together to create a useful narrative.” Some, he went on to say, even asked if they could support him financially. Carvin didn't ask for permission before launching his ad hoc pledge drive, but said NPR has been supportive of his efforts. Since he sent the tweet this morning, several people have made their contributions known on Twitter.