Day 201: Could Searching and Shopping Change the World?
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23IM9SCKiG8
What if you could help raise money for your favourite charity just by searching the internet?
Do you shop online? It seems an estimated 4.5 million people did on Christmas Day last year. What if a percentage of every dollar spent went to charity?
Could searching and shopping change the world? GoodSearch is certainly doing its best to do this.
Day 201: Give 201
GiveSearch gives back on a simple premise: You shop, you search, your charity gets a portion of the proceeds. Here is how it works taken directly from their site:
On the GoodSearch homepage, choose from thousands of organizations or add your favourite cause to our list.
Search the Internet just like you normally would — the site is powered by Yahoo!, so you’ll get high-quality search results.
Fifty percent of the revenue generated from the sponsored search advertisers is shared with the charity, school or nonprofit organization of your choosing.
I gave it a try today. I chose Plan International as my charity as I think the work they do is changing the world especially child poverty in developing nations. I was able to do a search easily for many different charities and if your favourite isn’t listed you can “add a charity“. It must fit within the guidelines provided but the option to register your charity or suggest a new one is an option.
So how much money does a search or purchase raise? Each retailer offers a different percentage and they give from each purchase. The Gap donates 2.5% of the purchase while 1800Flowers donates 6.25%.
You will see from the chart below how much money to date is being donated to Plan International. It is only April so a long way to go before the end of the year.
Month Searches $ Raised from Searches(1) $ Raised from Shopping(2) $ Raised from Bonus Total (Estimated)
January
5
$0.05
$0.25
$0.30
February
19
$0.19
$0.36
$0.55
March
17
$0.17
$0.45
$0.62
April
11
$0.11
$0.13
$0.24
Total: Year-to-Date
52
$0.52
$1.19
$1.71
Total: Since Inception
14586
$177.86
$20.10
$1.00
$198.96
If you want to GIVE every day this is any easy way to ensure that even when you don’t feel like you have time to give just download the tool bar and while you search / shop you are helping to give back. Choose one of the many ways you can help from their sight. Search, shop and share.
Time Commitment: 0 searching and shopping are part of my day- no extra time required
Cost: 0 Tools are free