NetSquared, a very cool organization dedicated to helping nonprofits and NGOs use “powerful new online tools to work achieving positive changes,” is sponsoring a very interesting “mash-up” technology challenge that combines social media with data sets to create equitable change.

The top 20 projects will share the $100,000 prize money to turn their ideas into reality.

I haven’t gotten the chance to peruse all the submissions, but the ones I’ve seen have been wonderfully groundbreaking.

Joshua Breitbart, the guy who submitted the innovative proposal, “The Human Side of the Digital Divide,” suggests voting for these other social media projects (and I suggest voting for his, too):

• Community Based DigiMapping, from Media Alliance
• Mapping the Media Change Movement, from the Media and Democracy Coalition
• YourMediaWorld, from the Center for International Media Action
• Planning for the People, from the Burlington public access station

Voting ends at 5 pm EST tomorrow (Friday). Click on this link to vote. You will be required to create an account to vote, but NetSquared is an organization worth hooking up with.

UPDATE: Make sure you also check out “City of New Orleans: A Mashup for Citizen Monitoring of the Recovery,” a tool the designers hope will provide real-time tracking of the planning and demolition processes in New Orleans. The lack of transparency has been a major obstacle in crafting a truly equitable recovery in the city, so projects like this could be a major help. The New Orleans Housing Resource Center and New Orleans Housing Resource Center and ThinkNola.com partnered to create the idea.