mark, i love your idea. i have thougt about similar actions and one of my ideas have been something like a website with a motto named "seos for charity". so all seos could help to build up a special site that ranks well under keyphrases like charity, sponsoring etc, and all income would go to charity projects or non-profit institutions. at such a site you could offer banners, sell textlinks that should be attractive due to high pagerank ;-) and so on. and if some seos or marketing companies would offer some free banner space etc there should be pretty much traffic and thus income for such a site. the only other thing that all the seos should offer is a link to that site, or two or three ;-) a kind of google bombing for charity :)

I like your idea, Gerald.

I would certainly be willing to participate in something like that. The SEO angle is a good one, SEOs could contribute links and site optimization advice for the site, driving rankings, traffic, and therefore charitable donations. :-)

Fine, I guess that chances would be good for such a project. Actually I have no time to pursue, but if my normal projects go well and some spare time will be left I would like to do such a charitable project.

Mark,

Great idea :) and one that I share. I own www.thebabymarketplace.com and from there have started www.aidfororphans.org.

www.aidfororphans.org is a grassroots organization that provides food, clothing, shelter and school supplies for more than 400 children in Ukraine and soon several hundred more in the Republic of Georgia.

We can use all of the help we can get :)

Kim

Hi Mark, I just came across your website and just LOVE the idea of donating a percentage of profits to charitable causes!! :lol:

If every major company or fellow webmaster followed this idea, then we could make a difference concerning some major problems like: hunger, diseases and human rights issues worldwide.

I am a musical teacher and just started working on a affiliate website for sheet music. I have a long way to go but when it becomes profitable I will defentately follow your plan!

:wink:

Peace!

Warm Regards,
René Knops
The Netherlands

I highly respect any person and especially companies that 'give back'. Kudos to you. I have always preferred local charities myself, donating time & services. I don't have much money to spare.
I have a very small hosting/tech support company. I host one charitable site for free - http://www.nmlinus.org. I started another site to assist moms in New Mexico (ok this helps me too) at http://www.newmexicomoms.org.

You don't need to be profitable to 'give back'. You need to be generous with what you do have - time, skills, heart.

If you design websites, pick a good local charity and put them online. If you host, set aside some space for charitable sites. This can be worth more than the money you can spare. :o

Wow, very interesting. I'm in the process of starting my own design business and have been giving this same idea some serious thought.

I know I want to donate 10% of my earnings to some charity however I was thinking about giving my clients the option of choosing which non-profit organization or charity they would like to the proceeds to go to (or I would decide if they wish to decline).

I've been brainstorming some other ideas I have too. Although I'm not sure if this would turn some potential clients away. I would be offering my services at the same rate as my competition.

I would love to hear other's honest opinions on this?

:D

Ashman,

That's a good idea to ask clients to help choose the charity. A friend of mine recently started a clothing line and retail store (Jut), and he plans to do the same.

helo to all

good day. that is what i am planning now. to donate some of my profit to charity. i own a computer shop and i like to give part of my profit and that for me would be a good idea. presently we are duscussing creating a charity group. and hope to finalize it by this week.

"The pure unadulterated love of one person can nullify the hatred of millions." Mahatma Gandhi

arlo from philippines

helo to all

good day. that is what i am planning now. to donate some of my profit to charity. i own a computer shop and i like to give part of my profit and that for me would be a good idea. presently we are duscussing creating a charity group. and hope to finalize it by this week.

"The pure unadulterated love of one person can nullify the hatred of millions." Mahatma Gandhi

arlo from philippines

I think that this discussion is one of the best ones I have seen in awhile. I agree and actually have been involved with a very worthy cause.

We are a non-profit organization that allows needy children to attend summer camps and also provide a place for outdoor school programs. At present we are setting up an auction website that will hopefully be finished in two months. Through this website all proceeds will go to the camp and also help other causes as requested by the donator of the item/s. If anyone is interested in either donating or have any questions please let me know.

Thanks to Mark for the discussion area on this important topic. I have been interested in this concept for a couple years, and I am doing it with my trademark services business. There is a great little book on it called "The Ten Percent Solution" by Marc Allen. I would like more information on any businesses involved in charity and giving 10%, as I am actively seeking these businesses to channel my personal spending and referrals. I have also noticed that small businesses that are actively involved in charity tend to create a better product or service, and are easier to work with. Thanks!
-John

Hi Mark
My name is Khaled Jomha, i live in Edmonton Alberta canada, i am working on a project now for my community, and we need all the support we can have, basically the project is a 23 million dollar school project in the heart of the north side of Edmonton ab.
I would appreciate the opportunity to talk together on how you can help us if that is feasable, we can provide you with a tour through the project, it is in the initial phases at the moment.
thank you
Khaled Jomha

Hello everyone, I have read the posts here and would like to bring your attention to my cause Support A Soldier. We send morale boosting care packages and letters to Soldier deployed around the world. If you or anyone else you knows wishes to donate to our cause, please email me. Thank you!

Hi- I think you are all on to making a difference by using your gifts and talents. My passion is creating revenue streams for at risk kids through the distribution of Kera Vita haircare and other inspirational products. I started Inspired4kids which distributes Kera Vita products- we are committing 100% of profits to kids charities.

My background is owning a chain of 60 salons after I sold it and experienced a few life 911's- I decided business with a purpose would be meaningful- we are just in the midst of finding distribution channels for the products so check us out and as we grow our clients will identify the local non profit kids and single women charities we will donate to.......spread the word...thanks Pam

Hi- I think you are all on to making a difference by using your gifts and talents. My passion is creating revenue streams for at risk kids through the distribution of Kera Vita haircare and other inspirational products. I started Inspired4kids which distributes Kera Vita products- we are committing 100% of profits to kids charities.

My background is owning a chain of 60 salons after I sold it and experienced a few life 911's- I decided business with a purpose would be meaningful- we are just in the midst of finding distribution channels for the products so check us out and as we grow our clients will identify the local non profit kids and single women charities we will donate to.......spread the word...thanks Pam

This is very cool and it's nice to see people giving back. I created a web site to help raise money for me and my friends to do a service project in Guatemala and decided to make it available for everybody to use. Even though it's not a monetary donation it's still a donation of time and one way of giving back. I agree that if everybody gave something back the world would be a much better place.

If anybody is interested they can check out my donations site here:

http://www.thanksforyoursupport.com/

It's free to use and I'd love to get feedback on what other features people would like.

I think that what you are doing is great Mark. It's good to see people looking at the bigger picture in the world, we need more of it. We need to see the issues that surround us and not be ignorant and blind to them. The most important thing I believe is that money raised should be spent effectively by the charities otherwise no matter how much money you throw at an issue, its never going to be solved, the funds need to be going to the right places and the right people.

I too am heavily involved in charity work, at the moment I am supporting Mencap, a learning disaility charity, fighting for equal rights for people who have learning disability in the workplace and in the community. I recently started the website www.mymillionforcharity.com, and although I am a 19 year old entrepreneur/student just starting out with my ideas I think if more people had the attitude to make a difference then we would be much better off, we need to encourage it, and ideas like 10% of profits to charity help that process in educating people of wider issues. I hope you have time to check out my website to see how my ideas are shaping up, and for my first event I am running the New York Marathon 06, so you can even guess how long it will take me to run it aswell!!

Kind Regards,

Jack

I think that what you are doing is great Mark. It's good to see people looking at the bigger picture in the world, we need more of it. We need to see the issues that surround us and not be ignorant and blind to them. The most important thing I believe is that money raised should be spent effectively by the charities otherwise no matter how much money you throw at an issue, its never going to be solved, the funds need to be going to the right places and the right people.

I too am heavily involved in charity work, at the moment I am supporting Mencap, a learning disaility charity, fighting for equal rights for people who have learning disability in the workplace and in the community. I recently started the website www.mymillionforcharity.com, and although I am a 19 year old entrepreneur/student just starting out with my ideas I think if more people had the attitude to make a difference then we would be much better off, we need to encourage it, and ideas like 10% of profits to charity help that process in educating people of wider issues. I hope you have time to check out my website to see how my ideas are shaping up, and for my first event I am running the New York Marathon 06, so you can even guess how long it will take me to run it aswell!!

Kind Regards,

Jack

I think that what you are doing is great Mark. It's good to see people looking at the bigger picture in the world, we need more of it. We need to see the issues that surround us and not be ignorant and blind to them. The most important thing I believe is that money raised should be spent effectively by the charities otherwise no matter how much money you throw at an issue, its never going to be solved, the funds need to be going to the right places and the right people.

I too am heavily involved in charity work, at the moment I am supporting Mencap, a learning disaility charity, fighting for equal rights for people who have learning disability in the workplace and in the community. I recently started the website www.mymillionforcharity.com, and although I am a 19 year old entrepreneur/student just starting out with my ideas I think if more people had the attitude to make a difference then we would be much better off, we need to encourage it, and ideas like 10% of profits to charity help that process in educating people of wider issues. I hope you have time to check out my website to see how my ideas are shaping up, and for my first event I am running the New York Marathon 06, so you can even guess how long it will take me to run it aswell!!

Kind Regards,

Jack

my business is a local based consumer/discount group and we donate 20% of our gross profit to charity.

Check out GiveMeaning.com. It allows you to choose the specific projects and outcome of your donation and charges no fees to donors or charities. Instead, they rely on socially resonsible companies to place advertising on the site.

It's a great way for companies not only to designate their giving but also to inform their customers/employees in a more targeted, relevant and credible way what the companies are supporting.

I think 10% is a good idea, more is better!

Dear friends,
I am blessed, among the few on earth; to find this link (web site), home online, where we can sit and share the needs of man and the destiny we all prefer.

I am encouraging you to keep up that spirit and heart at work.

You may also visit our web site: www.futurevictoryschool.org and learn a few of the activities going on here in Uganda, East Africa.

Always,
David Lubaale

I realize that this is an old topic, but I still feel the need to respond, since people are obviously still reading.

I kind of agree with you Mark. At the same time I don't. The thing I'm having issues with is the word "profit". The truth is that businesses have the ability to decide what "profit" really is. Who is to say that a business owner might not use the idea of giving "profit" to charity as a gimmick. Then they could put most of the revenue back into the business and there would be little to donate from.

No I think it would be better for businesses to make a decision up front to give a portion of revenue. That's what we decided at 3 Clothing company. We give 10% of our revenue to the charity of the buyers choice. We also check out the charities before we add them to the list to make sure that most of the donation goes to the cause.

I know that some larger businesses may have a hard time giving up that high of a percentage, but it's a choice. It's time we stopped saying what sounds good, and start doing what's right.

Josie
3 Clothing LLC

Hi, i just want to say I am starting an Australian Business Search engine and have decided to cross promote my premium listings with a childrens charity (no decision made yet) in which a % of profit will go the charity on each sale.

Now as regards revenue vs profit I am pretty sure in Australia you can give a % before tax and it will not be taxed so I am looking into that so i can give a higher %(if anyone knows for sure please let me know!).

It is a win-win situation for businesses to promote charity and most major companies do this all the time so if it helps business and that in turn helps charity then it is a no brainer.