Doing Good has never been Easier

According to the Giving USA Foundation Americans donated nearly $300 billion to charity last year. Why is giving more in vogue these days than ever? “It's now easier to get a philanthropic bang for your buck thanks to humanitarian-minded credit cards, grocery stores, Web sites and other ways that fit snugly into your daily grind,” explains Christine Dell'Amore’s recent article “How to Be Routinely Charitable” in the Washington Post.

The Web, in particular, plays a role in “doing good.” Here are just a few options literally at your fingertips. 

GoodSearch, a Yahoo-powered search engine, donates 50% of its revenue to the more than 45,000 charities and schools chosen by site users. While GoodSearch has attracted celebrity philanthropists, its users are mostly regular folks who want to do good, co-founder Ken Ramberg says. You can see how much money your charity has raised this month with the site's "Who do you GoodSearch for?" feature.

Go on a cyber shopping trip at iGive, which donates to charity up to 26% of each purchase from such popular stores as Macy's and Best Buy. Founder and chief executive Robert Grosshandler says the site has sparked a "virtuous circle" of people spreading the gospel of daily donating.

Sign up for a credit card through Working Assets and the company will give 10 cents to a nonprofit group (choose from over 50 groups) for each purchase made with the card. "People join because we make it easy to make a difference," co-founder & chief executive Laura Scher says.

So what are you waiting for? It’s never been easier to do good.