eBay’s charitable programs, eBay Giving Works in the US and eBay for Charity in the UK, raised a staggering $50million between them during 2009. This is a 17% increase on last year – meaning that every minute, $91 is raised for good causes via eBay. Lunch with billionaire investor Warren Buffett raised $1.68million from a single listing.
eBay’s CEO John Donahoe said, “It’s what makes the eBay marketplace so unique, and what enables our community to do good things for causes they believe in. Your generosity this year, especially in such a tough economy, isn’t just impressive – it’s inspiring.”
For charities, online is where it’s at. A recent survey* found that online donations were increasing at 44% a year, seven times faster than offline giving. And if you needed a less philanthropic reason to run charity listings, eBay items advertising that 10% of proceeds will be given to charity is nearly 20% more likely to sell than their non-charity equivalents. Charity listings increase traffic to everything you’re selling, so it’s a winning situation for everyone.
We’d really like to hear from anyone using eBay to raise money for their favourite cause, particularly for smaller organisations who might struggle to get themselves noticed otherwise. If you’ve got a great story you’d like to share in a future post, leave us a comment, or @ us on Twitter.
Via eBay Ink.
* Blackbaud online giving trends analysis 2009
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