Stephen Paletta, winner of Oprah's Big Give competition
Established
2010
Service
Online website which helps members create their own foundation, through which they can donate to their favorite charities easily and efficiently.
Cost
Free. 100% of all donations are given to the charities
My Experience
GiveBack was easy to join and use. To join, just enter your email address, provide your name, and you are set. To find a charity, just type a charity name, city, or state in the search box. A list of charities matching your keyword will pop-up. Once you have selected the right organization, you enter the amount of money you want to donate...it's that easy. You can select as many charities as you want to donate to and get only 1 tax receipt come tax time. One of the things I like about GiveBack is that there is a plethora of (IRS registered) charities to choose from. You can donate to organizations that focus on diseases (e.g. American Cancer Society, Autism Speak, National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation), religion (e.g. Catholic Charities, YMCA), sports (e.g. Women's Sports Foundation, Special Olympics), and the list goes on and on.
GiveBack has also made fund raising very easy. There are 3 ways you can increase your funds.
1. Add money to your account.
2. Shop at selected stores. You can earn up to 15% from a variety of online stores that sell apparel (e.g. Banana Republic, Macy's), electronics (e.g. Apple Store, Radio Shack), toys (e.g. Toys R Us), and the list goes on and on. GiveBack has over 400 retail partners.
3. Sponsorship. There are contests you can enter to win money for your foundation. By writing about how I give back to my community, I've entered to win $1,000 for my foundation. Also, asking family and friends to give to your foundation in lieu of a gift would be a great way to increase your funds. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
To learn more about GiveBack, go to their website or watch the clip below.
I am a member of One2One Network and have written this post to help me win a trip to Blissdom Conference in 2011.
