April 3, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
EBay, the popular online marketplace, where people can buy or sell anything from a George Foreman grill to the new Hummer H2, will soon provide buyers and sellers with a new way to donate to charitable causes.
The San Jose, Calif., company has signed an agreement with MissionFish, an online charity auction site, to manage its charity fund-raising program beginning later this year.
The change means that for the first time, any seller using eBay will be able to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity he or she selects. MissionFish will collect donations from the buyers and distribute them to the charities. Previously, auctions were conducted only for a limited number of charities.
Sellers interested in raising money for charity from their eBay listings will be able to select a nonprofit organization and designate the percentage of the proceeds from the sale of their item that they would like to donate to that charity. MissionFish says it will make sure that the charity is tax exempt. In turn, charities, which will be invited to register free with MissionFish, will have the opportunity to approve or reject the eBay listings with which they are associated.
Approved items will be placed for bid on eBay with a “charity auction” icon, and buyers of the items will send money to the nonprofit group through MissionFish.
For more information: Go to http://www.missionfish.org/ebay.
