Virtual ‘spare change jar’ could make big difference

Popular bank programs that allow account holders to round-up their purchases to the next dollar and deposit that change into a savings account have spurred new ways to raise money for charities.

ChangeRoundUp.com is a Web site that allows nonprofits to place a "virtual spare change jar" on the "counters" of online retailers. When people make purchases at a participating store, they are asked at checkout if they would like to round their purchase up to the next dollar and have the leftover change donated to a charity. If the answer is yes, the spare change is billed by the Change Round-Up and distributed to the receiving charity.

"By asking people to donate at the point of purchase, we can aggregate millions of small donations to generate some real change," said Daniel Quigley, founder of Change Round-Up. He started the site out of a desire to make it more convenient for people to donate and to reduce the costs associated with fundraising. "As we are coming out of our 'beta' period, we have the potential to raise hundreds of millions of dollars."

While most of the donations come from online retailers at the moment, local utilities companies, and city and local government offices that use online bill pay may be willing to put a district's donation widget on their Web sites. "If you can collect a payment online, we can put a button there," Quigley said. And while no education foundations are currently participating, Quigley said his service is a great fit for them. In addition to rounding up to the next dollar, the change jars also accept larger donations if a purchaser wishes to contribute more than just a few cents. "The average donation is $1.20 per person," said Quigley. Nonprofits can register on the site and there is no cost to use the service. Change Round-Up takes 10 percent of the donated money to cover administrative expenses.

Which nonprofits end up on which retailer's site? That is up to the retailer, but nonprofits have the ability to discuss what kind of sites they would like to be a part of before an actual commitment is made. "Most retailers pick organizations that are consistent with their corporate values as well as the preferences of their customers," said Quigley. "We wouldn't put an animal-rights organization on a hunting supply store Web site."

For more information visit www.ChangeRoundUp.com or email info@ChangeRoundUp.com.

Reprinted with permission from Education Grants Alert newsletter. Copyright 2008 by LRP Publications, P.O. Box 24668, West Palm Beach, FL 33416-4668. All rights reserved. For more information on LRP Publications’ education newsletters, pamphlets, books, videos and online services call toll-free 1-800-341-7874 or visit www.shoplrp.com/ed