21 Ways: (3) GoodSearch

Last year, I cut back on the stuff I gave for Christmas. While my younger siblings still got books, other family members got gift certificates to various charities in leiu of gifts. Thus, this. Each day from here to 2010, I’ll be posting one charity, NGO or non-profit I can get behind in the spirit of giving.


GoodSearch: You Search...We Give!
According to GoodSearch’s homepage, “86,000+ nonprofits are now on board and 100 more are joining daily.”
GoodSearch is one of those ideas you hear about and wish you’d had.

Here’s the skinny:

GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50-percent of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. It’s a simple and compelling concept. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it’s powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!

Here’s how it works:

Charity or School Size Number of Supporters Average Searches Per Day Estimated Revenue/Year
Small 100 2 $730
Medium 1,000 2 $7,300
Large 10,000 2 $73,000

Two years ago, SLA became a GoodSearch charity.

Imagine if every school in the country signed up and parents convinced their employers to install the toolbar as part of the image of every machine in every office.

It’s a fantastic way to support a non-profit by doing something you’d do anyway. Even if your local school isn’t participating in GoodSearch (and it should be), you’re bound to find something worth your support.

If worse comes to worst, you could always search for SLA.