Charitable Shopping Sites: A Sampler

Charitable Way (http://www.charitableway.com)

HISTORY: Started in November 1999 by Pete Mountanos, a former chief executive officer at VXtreme, a technology company that was sold to Microsoft in 1997.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Organizations must be classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service and sign contracts with the site to be listed. Nearly 3,000 groups are enrolled with 7,000 more set to be added early next year.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public, saying the site was too new for figures to be determined. Passes to charity at least 90 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Also allows people to give money to charities using credit cards and through employee-giving programs.

CharityMall (http://www.charitymall.com)

HISTORY: Founded in November 1998 by Earl Thomas and Karl Thomas. Sold in July 1999 to Tim Kunin and Greg Hesterberg, who wanted to expand their publishing and advertising business through the Internet while finding a way to contribute to social causes. Newly developed site went on line November 1999.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Organizations must be classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service, “benefit the common good,” and enroll with the site to be listed. Shoppers can suggest other charities for the site to seek to sign up. Nearly 100 groups have enrolled.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public, saying the site was too new for figures to be determined. Passes to charity 100 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Soon will be able to send thank-you e-mail letters to shoppers on behalf of the charities people have designated.

4Charity.com (http://www.4charity.com)

HISTORY: Created in 1998 by Stanford University students as part of a class project to help student buy textbooks on line while raising money for Special Olympics. Converted by Scott Dunlap and Tracey Pettengill, graduates of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, to a for-profit company in September 1999.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Organizations are suggested by shoppers and must be classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service. Forty organizations are currently receiving money through the site.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public. Passes to charity 100 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Half of the co-founders’ stock is earmarked for charity and will be distributed through a new foundation to non-profit groups that are involved with the site.

GreaterGood.com (http://www.greatergood.com)

HISTORY: Started by Paul Goodrich, chairman of Madrona Investment Group, in February 1999.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Organizations must be classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service and sign an agreement with the site to be listed. However, shoppers may designate other organizations to receive money. Nearly 500 charities are currently listed on the site.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public a specific figure but says the total amounts to “tens of thousands of dollars.” Passes to charity 50 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Creates and runs additional “customized shopping villages” for charities, on the organizations’ own Web sites, at no charge.

iGive.com (http://www.igive.com)

HISTORY: Started by Robert Grosshandler in November 1997.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Any “worthy cause” or non-profit group specified by the shopper — not limited to organizations classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: $525,000 for 6,400 different causes and organizations to date. Much of that money comes from sign-up fees and other incentives paid to charities after new people shop rather than through commissions paid by retailers for purchases. Passes to charity up to 90 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Tells shoppers they have a chance to claim a tax deduction for the retailer commissions that are directed to charities. Justifies the deduction by setting up its program so that shoppers have the choice of keeping the commissions for themselves or forwarding the money to charities.

MyCause.com (http://mycause.com)

HISTORY: Started by Brendan Wyly, a reference librarian at Cornell University, and Frank Adelstein, a computer-science researcher, in December 1998.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: More than 275,000 organizations that are classified as charities by the Internal Revenue Service. Shoppers can suggest other organizations.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: $260. Passes to charity 60 to 100 per cent of commissions paid by retailers from purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Founders are unpaid and site operates on a self-described “shoestring” budget, with projected sales in 1999 of $20,000 or less.

Non-Profit Shopping Mall (http://npsmall.com)

HISTORY: Started by Samson Marketing, an Internet company, in March 1999.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Non-profit organizations that have signed contracts with the site to be listed. Shoppers can suggest other charities for the site to seek to sign up. Fifty-five groups have signed agreements to date.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public, saying the site was too new for figures to be determined. Passes to charity 70 per cent of comissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Provides each non-profit client with its own shopping mall. To protect shoppers’ privacy, doesn’t require them to register.

Shop2Give (http://www.shop2give.com)

HISTORY: Started by Ami Kassar, a former sales and marketing executive at a manufacturing firm, in December 1998.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: All organizations that are classified as charities with the Internal Revenue Service. Site signs contracts with charities, whose logos are featured.

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public. Passes to charity 50 to 100 per cent of commissions paid by retailers for purchases.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Creates and runs additional “customized shopping malls” for charities on the organizations’ own Web sites.

Shop for Change.com (http://shopforchange.com)

HISTORY: Started in June 1999 by Working Assets, the company that donates a portion of monthly charges from its long-distance telephone and other services to non-profit organizations and asks its consumers to help select the groups that get the money.

ELIGIBLE GROUPS: Fifty non-profit organizations that it calls “progressive” and that are “working for peace, human rights, equality, education, and the environment.”

AMOUNT RAISED FOR CHARITY: Declined to make public, saying the site was too new for figures to be determined. Two-thirds of the retailer commissions are donated to non-profit organizations.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: Each year, shoppers help nominate organizations to be included as eligible recipients. An independent foundation evaluates the hundreds of nominated groups, and the employees and the board of Working Assets select 50 groups for the final list. Shoppers can then vote on how to distribute the money among the 50 organizations.

Copyright © 1999 The Chronicle of Philanthropy