Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Turn a simple search into a nonprofit donation

I received an email today from GoodSearch.com reminding me that by using the Yahoo-powered service when I conduct my online research I could generate badly needed donations for charities of my choice.  Apparently the service was featured by a major news network but I must have missed the piece - a hazard sometimes of being a television by satellite customer!  Anyway, I checked it out and it seems to be highly recommended.  I'm not used to using Yahoo as my default search engine but I suppose it doesn't hurt to give it a try.  I installed the GoodSearch toolbar, available from their website, into my browser to make it easier to incorporate this new way of giving into my daily work tasks. 

Many non-profits are really hurting this year.  I read that even the uber-rich have cut back their giving by as much as 38% - a real tragedy considering so many agencies that help low income households are literally swamped with so many people unemployed right now. 

"GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo powered search engine which donates about a penny per search to the user’s favorite charity or school! You use it exactly as you would any other search engine, but it turns the simple act of doing an Internet search into an act of doing good.  And the pennies add up quickly.  Just 500 people searching four times a day will earn approximately $7,300 a year!  And, it doesn’t cost the users a thing!

In addition, the sister site GoodShop.com has partnered with more than 1,600 retailers including Target, Apple, Macy’s, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Gap, PETCO and others to donate a percentage of each purchase back to the charity or school of the shopper’s choice (as well as provide thousands of coupons and free shipping offers).
 
More than 95,000 nonprofits and schools are on-board and seeing the results! (We can give you a list of some in your area.)

GoodSearch and GoodShop have quickly spread via word-of-mouth, the blogger community, and a number of celebrities and their foundations including Jessica Biel, Montel Williams, Jeff Bridges, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw among others. 
  • Supporters of the ASPCA have raised over $37,000 to help animals in need
  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has earned more than $13,000 to find cures and save children
  • The National Inclusion Project, which helps children with disabilities, has used the money it earned to send more than 150 children to summer camp
  • A single purchase at Gaiam.com resulted in a $284 donation to the Motion Mania Dance Theater in Maryland

Internet users have found GoodSearch and GoodShop to be a compelling idea.  Beth Elson, a lawyer in Chicago, uses GoodSearch and GoodShop to support the Best Friends Animal Society which runs the nation's largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals.  “This seems too good to be true but it’s not! I feel fantastic knowing that every time I search the Internet – which I do all the time – I’m helping a cause I care so much about.  It’s a no-brainer to use this site!”

The GoodSearch and GoodShop team is revolutionizing online philanthropy so that no one is denied the opportunity to support the causes most important to them.  “The response to this idea has been truly overwhelming,” said Ken Ramberg, Co-Founder of GoodSearch and former President of JOBTRAK, the largest online career site for college students (which was acquired by Monster.com). “More than 100 new nonprofits and schools nationwide register daily allowing GoodSearch and GoodShop to truly make a difference in communities across the country.  These sites make it possible for everyone, regardless of how much time or money they have, to give back.”



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