What if your favorite nonprofit could earn passive income from something you already do everyday? That’s the basic idea behind GoodSearch, a search engine that donates 50% of its revenue to the nonprofits designated by its users.
We have all come to rely on search engines (Google anyone?) for everything from finding a phone number to researching the best car mechanic, but have you ever wondered what happens to the nearly $8 billion in advertising that is generated annually by search engine advertisers? GoodSearch founders brother and sister Ken and JJ Ramberg did, and they also wondered what would happen if only a fraction of that $8 billion could be directed towards the organizations who are working diligently to improve the world.
Let’s face it – we’d all like to do more for the causes we care about, but who has more time or money especially during this crazy economic “adjustment”? Our favorite nonprofits are even more strapped than usual at a time when so many of us feel as if we have less to give. However, if you believe giving is an integral part of your own success formula, then belt-tightening becomes even more alarming.
Events are labor-intensive, major donors are drying up like my complexion in Minnesota, sending children door-to-door is annoying to the neighbors, and grants are shrinking. Given that smaller nonprofits in particular have historically struggled to predict revenue and budget wisely, passive income makes a lot of sense for everyone. And what better way to generate passive income than to capitalize on common behaviors?
The concept is simple. Your supporters use GoodSearch just as they would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, they get exactly the same results as they would by searching from the Yahoo! home page. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers — the users and the nonprofits do not spend a cent!
And best of all, it’s easy. Go to the GoodSearch home page and choose from thousands of organizations or add your own favorite to the list. Use GoodSearch for all your internet searches. Tell everyone. That’s all. Fifty percent of the revenue generated from advertisers is donated to your designated cause. No extra time or money required!
Just how much money could it mean? Here are some examples:
100 supporters x 2 searches per day = $730 per year
1000 supporters x 2 searches per day = $7300 per year
10,000 supporters x 2 searches per day = $73,000 per year
Could that make a difference for your favorite cause?
Start today. Choose your cause. Search. Share.
http://www.goodsearch.com/
Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Chicks with Checks Launches in Minnesota
Chicks with Checks™ is coming to Minnesota!
Please join us on September 15 as Chicks with Checks™ launches its first chapter in Minnesota.
Haven’t heard of Chicks with Checks™ yet? You will! Every month, each Chicks with Checks™ chapter hosts a casual, relaxed, FUN Party with a Purpose. The goal of each gathering is to raise awareness and funds for that month’s featured beneficiary, a different local non-profit every month. (Your organization could be next!) As we mingle and mix over a glass of wine or cup of coffee, we really get to know these organizations – who they are, what they do, and how we can help. In the process, Chicks with Checks™ members and guests make real friends, help each other grow and prosper, and contribute to making our communities better. Social networking and charitable giving all in one!
Local non-profits are offered one complimentary membership for their Executive Director or Development Director and can earn additional complimentary memberships through membership referrals. Chicks with Checks™ is a great place for you, your staff, your board, and your volunteers to network with local women who are actively seeking ways to support local nonprofits.
Please join us on September 15 and bring your friends!!! Our goal is to have 100 women at this launch party.
Anne Newell
Founder
www.chickswithchecks.org
mobile 843-708-1855
To find out how your organization can become a beneficiary, visit www.chickswithchecks.org and click on “Become a beneficiary.”
Join Us at Minnesota’s First
Chicks with Checks™
Party with a Purpose
September 15, 2009
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Benefiting
Home for Life
www.homeforlife.org
at
The Wine Market in Mendota Heights
Conveniently located 5 minutes from Mall of America
Hwy 110 and Dodd Road, ¼ mile east of 35E
www.thewinemarket.us
$35 includes:
Donation to featured beneficiary
Complimentary wine tasting
Outstanding networking
Raising awareness and funds for local non-profits
Do Good….Have FUN!
For more information email anne@chickswithchecks.org or visit www.chickswithchecks.org
Please join us on September 15 as Chicks with Checks™ launches its first chapter in Minnesota.
Haven’t heard of Chicks with Checks™ yet? You will! Every month, each Chicks with Checks™ chapter hosts a casual, relaxed, FUN Party with a Purpose. The goal of each gathering is to raise awareness and funds for that month’s featured beneficiary, a different local non-profit every month. (Your organization could be next!) As we mingle and mix over a glass of wine or cup of coffee, we really get to know these organizations – who they are, what they do, and how we can help. In the process, Chicks with Checks™ members and guests make real friends, help each other grow and prosper, and contribute to making our communities better. Social networking and charitable giving all in one!
Local non-profits are offered one complimentary membership for their Executive Director or Development Director and can earn additional complimentary memberships through membership referrals. Chicks with Checks™ is a great place for you, your staff, your board, and your volunteers to network with local women who are actively seeking ways to support local nonprofits.
Please join us on September 15 and bring your friends!!! Our goal is to have 100 women at this launch party.
Anne Newell
Founder
www.chickswithchecks.org
mobile 843-708-1855
To find out how your organization can become a beneficiary, visit www.chickswithchecks.org and click on “Become a beneficiary.”
Join Us at Minnesota’s First
Chicks with Checks™
Party with a Purpose
September 15, 2009
5:30 – 7:30 pm
Benefiting
Home for Life
www.homeforlife.org
at
The Wine Market in Mendota Heights
Conveniently located 5 minutes from Mall of America
Hwy 110 and Dodd Road, ¼ mile east of 35E
www.thewinemarket.us
$35 includes:
Donation to featured beneficiary
Complimentary wine tasting
Outstanding networking
Raising awareness and funds for local non-profits
Do Good….Have FUN!
For more information email anne@chickswithchecks.org or visit www.chickswithchecks.org
The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Many of us are thinking twice about parting with our hard-earned dollars these days, finding greater comfort the perceived safety of our own little economic foxholes. We’re re-defining needs and wants. We’re cutting back, staying home, and thinking carefully before spending on anything. Frankly, donating even to worthy causes feels unsettling when there are pressing needs like paying the mortgage and feeding our families. Yet there is rock-solid evidence that investing in the safety and happiness of others makes our own sense of safety and happiness soar.
Did you know that when you volunteer or donate to a cause you are passionate about, you reap significant health benefits for yourself? Studies have also shown that as little as 40 hours of volunteering per year can extend your own life span. That may be a result of feeling more connected since strong social relationships have long been associated with lower risk of depression and Alzheimer’s, as well as general physical well-being and mental health. That’s great news since there is plenty we could be depressed about these days! Even better, this pleasure principle may be measurable. MRI studies have shown that the happiness derived from providing for others activates the same area of our brain that lights up when we see an attractive person or win a prize.
There is also a sense of personal power generated by giving. Sharing, even when you only have a little to give, boosts your own confidence which translates into better choices and more success for you. And giving to a person or organization you know may be the best medicine of all. In the article “The Price of Happiness” (Good Housekeeping, July 2009) author Brett Graff tells the story of Colleen Lake, a single mom in New Hampshire who had developed a friendship with one of the sales reps who served her company. One day, the sales rep cancelled an appointment due to car trouble. Though not wealthy herself, Lake took a deep breath, called the repair shop, and gave them her personal credit card. “I felt supersonic,” Lake said. “It put me in a place that money can’t buy - $600 meant the world to her. There isn’t anything I could have bought for myself that could have given me the same feeling.”
The giving muscle needs regular “exercise” to stay fit and pass along its health benefits. Thankfully, a little goes a long way. Years ago, a friend decided it was time to shed a few pounds about the same time she decided she needed to be donating more consistently. She wasn’t really overweight and already gave sporadically, but wanted to do something more concrete in both areas of her life. She chose to give up soda and donate the saved money to a homeless shelter. She made a “bank” by cutting a hole in a jar lid. Every time she would be temped to go to the soda machine, she would plop the change into the bank instead. Watching the money grow inspired her to keep going. Knowing that she was feeding others by treating her own body better gave her a renewed sense of power.
When your focus is on acquiring more stuff of any kind, you are likely to only gain an uneasy feeling of wanting more. It’s not that the stuff itself is dissatisfying. Instead, as you focus on getting, the natural tendency is to compare your stuff to others’ stuff and never quite measure up. Someone always has more of something! Instead, a growing body is evidence suggests that a focus on giving – your time, your talent and your money – has the greatest ROI on the bottom line of your life.
Giving to others will give back to you in ways you can’t imagine right now. Challenge yourself to give something every day, no matter how small it might seem at the moment. Stumped for where to start? How about just giving smiles to random strangers! And be sure to come back and tell us what happened next!
Did you know that when you volunteer or donate to a cause you are passionate about, you reap significant health benefits for yourself? Studies have also shown that as little as 40 hours of volunteering per year can extend your own life span. That may be a result of feeling more connected since strong social relationships have long been associated with lower risk of depression and Alzheimer’s, as well as general physical well-being and mental health. That’s great news since there is plenty we could be depressed about these days! Even better, this pleasure principle may be measurable. MRI studies have shown that the happiness derived from providing for others activates the same area of our brain that lights up when we see an attractive person or win a prize.
There is also a sense of personal power generated by giving. Sharing, even when you only have a little to give, boosts your own confidence which translates into better choices and more success for you. And giving to a person or organization you know may be the best medicine of all. In the article “The Price of Happiness” (Good Housekeeping, July 2009) author Brett Graff tells the story of Colleen Lake, a single mom in New Hampshire who had developed a friendship with one of the sales reps who served her company. One day, the sales rep cancelled an appointment due to car trouble. Though not wealthy herself, Lake took a deep breath, called the repair shop, and gave them her personal credit card. “I felt supersonic,” Lake said. “It put me in a place that money can’t buy - $600 meant the world to her. There isn’t anything I could have bought for myself that could have given me the same feeling.”
The giving muscle needs regular “exercise” to stay fit and pass along its health benefits. Thankfully, a little goes a long way. Years ago, a friend decided it was time to shed a few pounds about the same time she decided she needed to be donating more consistently. She wasn’t really overweight and already gave sporadically, but wanted to do something more concrete in both areas of her life. She chose to give up soda and donate the saved money to a homeless shelter. She made a “bank” by cutting a hole in a jar lid. Every time she would be temped to go to the soda machine, she would plop the change into the bank instead. Watching the money grow inspired her to keep going. Knowing that she was feeding others by treating her own body better gave her a renewed sense of power.
When your focus is on acquiring more stuff of any kind, you are likely to only gain an uneasy feeling of wanting more. It’s not that the stuff itself is dissatisfying. Instead, as you focus on getting, the natural tendency is to compare your stuff to others’ stuff and never quite measure up. Someone always has more of something! Instead, a growing body is evidence suggests that a focus on giving – your time, your talent and your money – has the greatest ROI on the bottom line of your life.
Giving to others will give back to you in ways you can’t imagine right now. Challenge yourself to give something every day, no matter how small it might seem at the moment. Stumped for where to start? How about just giving smiles to random strangers! And be sure to come back and tell us what happened next!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Simple Abundance
The workaholic frenzy of the late twentieth century disconnected many of us from the deeper abundance that can only come from great relationships, good health, and free time. Sure, we had lots of stuff, but there was also a gnawing sense that something important was missing. That naturally translated into a quest for something more satisfying, so it should come as no surprise that the other major trend of that time period was an escalating search for meaning and for a more balanced definition of success.
It should have been a little comical to watch the simultaneous proliferation of the success movement and the spiritual movement. On the surface, they seem to be polar opposites. The early success crowd screamed “You deserve a big house, big car, big bucks!” while the early spiritual crowd stridently urged “Turn your back on material things. Find your purpose!”
What if they were both right? And both wrong?
Somewhere along the way, the word “abundance” crept into the conversation and along with it came a brand new perspective. Suddenly, it was fashionable to have it all, both material wealth and deeper meaning. At first, folks felt overwhelmed trying to balance making enough money to buy what they wanted with having the time to nurture relationships including the one with themselves. And then a funny thing began to happen. People began to wake up. They began bucking the system. They began demanding more from the work they did for money, insisting that it feed more than just their pocketbook. They began demanding more from their spiritual leaders, insisting that they do more than push religion. And they began redefining success on their own terms.
In his book Simple Prosperity, sustainability expert David Mann explains how we can derive deeply satisfying pleasure from reconnecting to the simple things in life. Mann outlines a philosophy based on allowing ourselves to enjoy more fulfillment in human-scaled moments built on fostering creativity, nurturing relationships, and improving our physical wellness. He enlightens us on how we can derive a surprising abundance from a whole host of underappreciated resources and begin to create a richer, more rewarding life.
Of course, it’s one thing to say the best things in life are free, and quite another to weave together our preconceived notions about “having it all” and “doing without” into one fulfilling reality. And that is where perspective enters the picture. Do we want that big house because the success industry says we should want it or because that particular house speaks to our soul and says “home”? In the end, it was never the size of the house that mattered. The biggest house in the world won’t satisfy if you secretly long for a cabin in the woods. And the cabin in the woods will drive you bonkers if your soul cries out for a mansion overlooking the ocean. Finding success is all about finding the right size for you.
If you are looking for an upside to this economic downturn, this may be it. It may be just the wake-up call we needed to re-evaluate and re-group and go after our own version of success with gusto. Go for it!
It should have been a little comical to watch the simultaneous proliferation of the success movement and the spiritual movement. On the surface, they seem to be polar opposites. The early success crowd screamed “You deserve a big house, big car, big bucks!” while the early spiritual crowd stridently urged “Turn your back on material things. Find your purpose!”
What if they were both right? And both wrong?
Somewhere along the way, the word “abundance” crept into the conversation and along with it came a brand new perspective. Suddenly, it was fashionable to have it all, both material wealth and deeper meaning. At first, folks felt overwhelmed trying to balance making enough money to buy what they wanted with having the time to nurture relationships including the one with themselves. And then a funny thing began to happen. People began to wake up. They began bucking the system. They began demanding more from the work they did for money, insisting that it feed more than just their pocketbook. They began demanding more from their spiritual leaders, insisting that they do more than push religion. And they began redefining success on their own terms.
In his book Simple Prosperity, sustainability expert David Mann explains how we can derive deeply satisfying pleasure from reconnecting to the simple things in life. Mann outlines a philosophy based on allowing ourselves to enjoy more fulfillment in human-scaled moments built on fostering creativity, nurturing relationships, and improving our physical wellness. He enlightens us on how we can derive a surprising abundance from a whole host of underappreciated resources and begin to create a richer, more rewarding life.
Of course, it’s one thing to say the best things in life are free, and quite another to weave together our preconceived notions about “having it all” and “doing without” into one fulfilling reality. And that is where perspective enters the picture. Do we want that big house because the success industry says we should want it or because that particular house speaks to our soul and says “home”? In the end, it was never the size of the house that mattered. The biggest house in the world won’t satisfy if you secretly long for a cabin in the woods. And the cabin in the woods will drive you bonkers if your soul cries out for a mansion overlooking the ocean. Finding success is all about finding the right size for you.
If you are looking for an upside to this economic downturn, this may be it. It may be just the wake-up call we needed to re-evaluate and re-group and go after our own version of success with gusto. Go for it!
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