What is this all about?

How is this free?

When and how often can I click?

Is making a donation or sending a letter worth my time?

I'll never remember to come back.

How can I help these websites survive?

Click-to-donates let you turn your time into money. You click buttons and look at tasteful (not pop-up or porn) advertisements. Meanwhile, the people who created those ads pledge to pay for 100% of ALL your donations. The more people who click, and the more often they do so, the more money goes to charity. It's as simple as that.

BACK TO TOP

Let's say a corporation, nonprofit, or individual wants to do good or, at least, look good. This sponsor pledges money to a charitable cause championed by a click-to-donate site (CTD). In return, the CTD posts the sponsor's advertising banner.

You stumble across this CTD and click its little "Click Here!" button. You then see the sponsor's ad banner. The CTD silently notes your visit and charges the sponsor, although at a very decent rate. For each person who sees the ad banner, the sponsor has to pay a little bit more. Periodically, the CTD bills the sponsor, whose money (or at least most of it) goes to the charity.

Everyone wins. You're glad you did something important on the Web. The sponsor is glad you saw its advertisement. (Incidentally, you were more likely to click through this banner if you saw it on the CTD site than in some annoying random place.) The CTD is glad you visited, and the charity is glad you helped it get a much-needed donation.

BACK TO TOP

CTDs:

Most let you click once per 24-hour period per computer, with a few exceptions - notably FreeDonation which allows upto 20 per day

"Great," you say, "I can click every day, any time that suits my schedule."

This is where it gets tricky.

The good news is, CTDs are open 24/7/365 (that is, every day, all day, year-round), and most have no expiration date. Technically, yes, you can make a donation at any time during the day. The bad news is, in order to be counted every day, every set of clicks must be spaced at least 24 hours apart.

This means most people can't donate every single day, because CTDs won’t count clicks that are less than 24 hours apart. I know it's annoying, but you can still maximize your free donations without messing up your schedule.

I'd suggest

• trying this solution, courtesy of the site Easy Donations; or

• clicking at about the same time each day; or

• clicking every couple of days at whatever time you can.

Search-to-donates:

Read the policy of the site or search engine to find the donation limit.

BACK TO TOP

CTDs and search-to-donates: Yes. Every click raises a little money -- from a fraction of a cent to 25 cents.

Before you roll your eyes at this meager amount, consider the case of The Hunger Site.

As the best-known CTD out there, The Hunger Site gets 100,000 clicks per day. This translates into 15,000 pounds of food each day. As you can see, those pennies add up. Every click counts.

(Of course, all CTDs still need your daily clicks no matter how well they seem to be doing!)

Curious about how much money a specific CTD has raised? Go to the site and Look for a "Donation Totals" link, or something similar.

BACK TO TOP

I bet you're wrong.

Try these tips and see if you don't remember to come back every day, or at least every few days.

* Go to at least one of sites below. Sign up for an automatic daily or weekly e-mail reminder to click at that particular site. When you do that, remember to come to my site too.

• Daily or weekly reminders: These reminders come with illustrated inspirational messages and donate extra money!
  • Hunger Fighters
• Daily reminders on weekdays: These reminders donate extra money! To sign up, go to any of the following 5 sites, and click "Remember to Click" in the left column.
  • The Hunger Site
  • The Breast Cancer Site
  • The Child Health Site
  • The Rainforest Site
  • The Animal Rescue Site

* Write down my URL (http://www.jigsaw-of-smiles.8m.com/), and the purpose of my site; and put it somewhere you’ll see it at least once a day. Examples:

• computer monitor (find a place on the frame that your eyes naturally fall on, and put a post-it note there)
• desk
• mousepad
• keyboard
• bathroom mirror
• shower basket
• vitamin bottle
• glasses or sunglasses case
• window
• pillow
• chair
• wall
• CD collection
• door
• keychain
• jewelry case
• hairbrush or comb
• hair gel
• planner or calendar
• textbook
• bookmark

* Make my site your home page. (Here’s how)

• Not an option? Check out this compromise solution.
• Use a "portal" home page instead? See if it lets you keep a list of favorite links that display on the portal page. If so, add my site.

* Bookmark my site. (Here’s how.)

* Put a link to my site on your desktop.

* Schedule a time slot on your daily schedule to visit my site and click-click-click as fast as you can.

* Put my URL into your screensaver. In Windows, use the Marquee screensaver option.

* Make a huge paper banner with my URL on it, and hang it somewhere it can’t be missed. No, you don’t like that one?

* Get into the habit of visiting each day. This might be easier than you’d expect, if you’re truly motivated.

BACK TO TOP

1. VISIT SPONSORS

If you don't show sponsors your appreciation, they won't stick around for very long. Aim to click on 2-3 sponsors' sites each day. No pressure to buy anything; just visit.

I have to put in a word for buying, though.

A purchase from a sponsor is the ultimate "thank you" note. It encourages the sponsors to continue their support for CTDs. And buying from a sponsor doesn't have to be a burden.

Some sponsors are actually big names like Amazon, eBay, or other sites that you may be patronizing already. Look closely at ad banners, and you might find other great places to buy gifts, accessories, or things already on your shopping list. Gear That Gives, for instance, is a CTD sponsor that sells many gift items and donates some of the proceeds to charity.

Are you a regular Amazon customer? Look for CTDs or search-to-donates that are Amazon affiliates. This means they have Amazon ads or search boxes on their site. If you use these ads to buy things on Amazon, the CTD or search-to-donate gets some money from the sale. This money will go directly to charity or will be used to run the site.

Also, poke around sites a bit to find other ads that interest you. Some are from folks who just help out with web maintenance costs, but aren’t official sponsors. There are a lot of such ads at Ecology Fund, among other places.

If you do decide to buy something through a sponsor or other advertiser, go to the CTD, click the ad banner, and then browse the advertiser's site. Otherwise, the advertiser will have no idea you found them through the CTD.

Up

2.  DONATE MONEY OR TIME

Obviously, CTDs and search-to-donates are not-for-profit. The folks who run these ventures are, for the most part, concerned laypersons. They spend their own time and money so that you can do good deeds for free.

Sadly, CTDs routinely shut down due to lack of time, money, or interest. Every existing CTD, meanwhile, is desperate for support. Most CTDs struggle to find sponsors and to pay for web space.

CTCs are several times more expensive than CTDs or search-to-donates, so they need help too.

Here's how you can help:

• Go to a free donation or activism site that you want to support.
• If you can volunteer to do web or office tasks, e-mail the webmaster.
• If you have a few bucks, consider a donation. No matter how small, it will be welcome.

Donation tips:

• Know where your money is going. Before making any donation, always consult agencies such as the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Internet Fraud Complaint Center to make sure the charity is legitimate.
• Look for a donation link on the site itself. Does it allow credit card donations? If so, there should be a closed padlock at the bottom of your browser. If there isn't one, don't make a credit card donation online.
• If the site wants you to mail in a donation, send a check. Don't send cash or a money order.

Up

3.  DO MORE GOOD DEEDS WITH MINIMAL EFFORT

* Please also consider donating to any nonprofit(s) that come to mind. (Look up the organization's website for donation instructions.) Every dollar helps.

(Don't know where to start? Try Network for Good, Just Give, and Guide Star. And read this amusing introduction to charitable donations. But be careful before sending money; go to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance for guidance.)

* Give the gift of a donation. Some nonprofits will let you donate in someone’s name, and will send a card to that person. Anti-slavery.com is an example.

* Donate objects:

• clothes to Goodwill,
• books to the library,
• cell phones to domestic violence victims…
• ...read more ideas.
• If you have anything else you no longer need, call your town’s municipal building or house of worship to ask where you might donate these things.

* Shop through sites that probably donate a portion of their profits to charity. (Always check with the BBB or FTC before believing these claims.)

Why should you shop through these sites?

• You get to donate to charity by doing what you normally do.
• Some "shop-to-donate" sites give you discounts.
• These stores sell gifts, textbooks, music, videos, magazine subscriptions, accessories, electronic gadgets, and whatever else you’d be buying anyway.

(Speaking of what you'd be buying already. Are you a regular Amazon customer? Look for CTDs or search-to-donates that are Amazon affiliates. This means they have Amazon ads or search boxes on their site. If you use these ads to buy things on Amazon, the CTD or search-to-donate gets some money from the sale. This money will go directly to charity or will be used to run the site.)

Okay, here are the shop-to-donates I've been talking about:

• 4Charity
• AllJudaica (shop through Mazon’s link to the store)
• Animail
• Cafepress
• Care2 Green Thumbs-Up: Donate by shopping at popular Web stores, where you probably already shop. Why not use Froogle to find additional stores?
• Care2 Shopping
• Charity Mall
• Click2Care (Dutch)
• Donation Tree
• Earth Day Store
• E-scrip
• EnviroShop
• Gear That Gives
• Greater Good
• I Give
• MAC AIDS Fund
• PointsVine
• Shop2Help (Dutch)
• Shop for Change
• Shop For Tzedakah
• Waitrose: If you’re in the UK, using this ISP will generate donations while you surf the web.
• More here (great page!), here, here, here, …

* Socially conscious companies who could use your patronage. Note: not all of them sell products online.

• All for Animals: Cruelty-free Companies
• Fair Trade Coffee
• Garden of Eatin’
• Kind Planet
• No Sweat Apparel
• PeaceWorks
• Trader Joe’s
• A guide to leather alternatives

BACK TO TOP