GoodSearch: give by searching online

If you’re like most people, you probably spend a good deal of time on the Internet in the course of a given day.  You’re probably also using search engines to navigate your way across the web.  One of my favorite features in Firefox (PC or Mac) is the ability to create a dropdown list of search engines that you can use in the toolbar on the right side of the browser:

One of the options that we’ve installed is something called GoodSearch (branded “you search, we give”), a specific search engine (powered by Yahoo) that makes a small donation to a charity or school of your choice every time you use it.  The donation is in the neighborhood of a penny per search, but if you use the web as frequently as we do, this may start to add up for your chosen charity.  In fact, once you register the charity you’d like to search for (center of the home page), you can even find out how much they’ve benefited from other searchers over the last year.  With the Firefox toolbar option, using GoodSearch is something you can build right into your web experience.

The quality of the search seems to be pretty much on par with that of most search engines, although you may have to get used to it if you’ve been using something else like Google for a time.  Bottom line: it will get you where you’re going, and you’ll be blessing your chosen organization.

Another opportunity the site offers is a sister program called GoodShop, which makes a donation to the charity of your choice based on purchases made through the site (similar to how Upromise helps you save for your child’s education).  You’re able to make purchases through Amazon, Apple, and the like, and GoodSearch passes on a portion of their referral income to your designated charity.  So, give it a try—someone will be glad you did!