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Times are tight, we know, and that means wallets tend to be tightened even when it comes to donating to your favorite charity. But what if you could donate without spending extra money? What if you could donate just buy shopping online, buying the things you'd be buying anyway?
Spend For Good has a long, long list of affiliate websites from some of the biggest names in online retail, including Amazon, Orbitz, Borders and Apple, Inc among many others. As you shop online, a small percentage of your purchase goes toward a charity of your choice. You don't have to tack anything extra on to your purchase - just shop as you would otherwise, and designate a favorite charity to receive some extra help. Plus, there are a lot of great discounts and coupons available through the site to encourage you to shop with an impact.
The site works basically like a typical affiliate program, with the retailers paying a commission to the site every time someone clicks through from Spend for Good and buys something. Spend for Good simply directs the money earned from commissions towards a higher cause. They collect a small fee to pay their back end expenses, but all the commissions earned goes straight to non-profits registered as 501(c)(3) organizations.
Spend for Good was launched in December 2009 by online marketing experts and twin sisters Jill and Jessica Balis, along with former marketer and Chicago Public Schools' teacher Cristal Mendlen. The three saw an opportunity to help thousands of charities, recognizing how difficult it is to raise necessary funds. While the commissions, ranging from 1% to 7%, for the sale of one item isn't much, when pooled together, it really adds up, and every little bit helps. The last "featured" charity was UNICEF and nearly $60 was raised, just by people clicking through from Spend for Good to their retailer of choice and shopping as usual. The current featured charity is Project Peanut Butter, which helps to fight malnutrition, and over $65 dollars has already been raised.
We're always encouraging people to make a difference with their wallet. Not only does this mean buying environmentally friendly and socially responsible products, but it also means helping out important organizations where possible. Here is one opportunity where you can do both, and it doesn't require you to do anything extra, except add one more click to your online shopping trip.
Check out their FAQ for more details, and set up an account. It's free, and it makes a difference.
And while you're researching your purchases, don't forget to use those green search engines, like Good Search, that also donate to charities of your choice!
