Put "Click-to-Donate" Sites on your New Year's Resolution List

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A whole year has passed since the Year 2000 Y2K/Millenium scare. Even the groups that insisted that the real New Millennium--and thus the apocalypse--would occur on January 1, 2001 have quieted down. Of the two Web sites featured in the February 2000 Cyberweave, one (the Real Millennium Group (www.realmillenniumgroup.com)) no longer exists. The other (the Millennium & Apocalypse web site (www.mt.net/~watcher/new.html)), while as negative as ever, seems to be focusing on a more long-term apocalyptic scenario.

So, it seems we can breathe a sigh of relief and say a prayer of thanks. Thanksgiving is a key ingredient of the Law of Prosperity. In fact, if we desire a really prosperous new year, giving daily thanks should be a New Year's resolution that we keep. Another key to prosperity is the fact that as we give, so shall we receive. With that in mind, this month's Cyberweave column will focus on "click-to-donate" sites. These sites have introduced a new way of giving. You don't even have to dip into your bank account in order to donate. All you have to do is contribute a little time and the energy it takes to click on a site's "free donation" button.

Last year, Cyberweave featured The Hunger Site (www.thehungersite.com), the world's first "click-to-donate" site. This site gives Internet users the ability to quickly make a difference in the fight to end hunger. Daily, in less than five seconds, a visitor can click on the "Donate Free Food" button and send food to the hungry in countries around the world. So far, more than 101 million visitors have donated more than 11,000 metric tons of food.

Over the past year, the "click-to-donate" site concept has really caught on. There are dozens of sites designed to funnel needed funds to a wide range of organizations dedicated to causes like health-related research, youth issues, poverty, ecology, hunger, housing and peace. Some of the sites are portals that connect you with a variety of donation sites. These sites all operate in a similar fashion to The Hunger Site. When you click the "donate" button, the site's computer server registers your daily donation. The computer adds your donation to the day's totals and sends you to the Thank You page where the names of the sponsors who have paid for your donation are displayed. There is absolutely no charge to the Internet user for the donation; it is fully paid for by the sponsors. Of course, you are urged to click on the banners or buttons of sponsors that interest you.

Here are some other tips about the best way to use "click-to-donate" sites:

· Bookmark your favorite charities in a folder (i.e., Folder = Donation Sites).

· Visit these sites as often as possible, preferably once a day. Note: Most sites don't allow you to make free donation clicks more than one time per day.

· If you're buying a product or using a service on-line, be aware of those companies that give an extra donation when you use them. For example, I've bookmarked two florists with a note that I should access them through a particular donor site.

Here are some interesting sites:

Portal Site

· Greater Good (www.greatergood.com): This site is dedicated to making it free and easy to support good causes through every day Internet use. At GreaterGood.com, Internet users can shop at over 100 leading online merchants like Amazon.com, priceline, Nordstrom and Land's End. Up to 15 percent of each purchase automatically goes to an organization selected by the user. The selection list includes over 3000 organizations including Special Olympics, Save The Children, The United Nations World Food Programme, and The Nature Conservancy. GreaterGood.com also created and manages six other sites including The Hunger Site, The Rainforest Site, The kidsAID Site, The Child Survival Site, The Breast Cancer Site, and The Landmine Site. There are links on the home page to all of these sites.

· Quick Donations (www.quickdonations.com): The purpose of this site is to help on line users make donations as quickly as possible. An interesting section on the home page has a list of "High Impact Donations." At these sites, your free clicks really add up. In December, for example, each click on the Santa box at the Rand McNally site (www.randmcnally.com/toys) generated a $1 donation to Toys for Tots. Many other "click-to-donate" sites are featured with click through links. Also, the linked sites come up as a separate page instead of in a smaller framed window. This makes them easier to use.

Individual Sites

· The Rainforest Site (www.therainforest site.com), etc.: Once you get to The Rainforest Site, you'll notice a set of tabs at the top of the page that link you to five other sites: The Hunger Site, the Kids AIDS Site (www.thekidsaidssite.com), the Child Survival Site (www.thechildsurvivalsite), the Breast Cancer Site (www.thebreastcancersite.com), and the Landmine Site (www.thelandminesite.com). Each site is has a similar design and works in a similar way. Click the "Donate Land" button at the Rainforest site and you'll donate 14.4 square feet of land; click on the button at the Breast Cancer site and you'll help 11 underprivileged women per day receive mammograms. Go to the "More You Can Do" section at any of the sites and find out how you can do things like shop online at the Shopping Village where a percentage of your purchase is donated.

· Aid for Teens (www.aidforteens.com): This site helps supports programs for troubled teens at Bridgeway, Covenant House and Children of the Night.

· Animal Assist (www.animalassist.com): Click on a paw. Donations go to non-profit animal welfare organizations.

· City of Hope (www.clickforhope.org): Your free donation helps City of Hope find cures for cancer, diabetes HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses.

· EcologyFund (www.ecologyfund.com): Help Protect endangered Mexican Wildlife or create a new national park in East Africa at this site.

· e-giving (www.egiving.com): Buttons at this site allow you to help four organizations: CARE, Actionaid, Oxfam and Save the Children.

· For Goodness Sake (www.forgoodnesssake.org): Thirty-three charities benefit from clicking the "donation" button at this site.

· Feed South Africa (www.feedsa.co.za): Every time you click on a plate at this site you contribute towards feeding a hungry mouth in South Africa.

· Help the Hungry (www.helpthehungry.org): Philanthropist Alan Shawn Feinstein will give $1 for every click made at this site (the goal: $1 million dollars). Not-for-profit hunger agencies can get their share by going to the "Hunger Partners" section.

· MySmallPart (www.mysmallpart.com): The donation here amounts to less than 1¢, but you can click through five times on each of several causes including cancer research, sheltering the homeless and fighting Alzheimer's Disease.

· Peace for All (www.peaceforall.com): The goal of this site is to promote peace through the U.S. Association for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

· Plant-a-Tree (www.webreleaf.com): For every twenty clicks at, a tree is planted to restore forest ecosystems.

· SolvePoverty (www.solvepoverty.com): Click the button and donate up to 24¢ and one hour of online learning to help educate a poor child and create a job for his or her parents.

Do you have a favorite spiritual or personal growth Web site that you'd like me to review? Please drop me an e-mail at Monty764@aol.com. And remember, I also want to hear your story about how the Internet and the World Wide Web have impacted your journey toward self-realization.