Each Friday, the another jennifer blog shares stories of those who incorporate philanthropy into their everyday lives – personally and professionally – in a creative and unique way. If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact Jennifer.
BiddingForGood is a charitable e-commerce company that connects fundraisers, cause-conscious shoppers, and socially responsible businesses. They do this by offering a platform to nonprofits and schools for running an online auction.
Anyone can shop on BiddingForGood’s auctions – it’s kinda like eBay – but when you shop on the website, you know that the proceeds of the auction will go to a good cause.
BiddingForGood calls what they do Charitable Commerce™. They are a small company that is committed to helping nonprofits raise money. The staff also volunteers to help organizations on their own time.
I worked with BiddingForGood a couple years back when I ran an online fundraising auction for Crossroads. The auction itself was a lot of work, but the platform was great. From a technical perspective, uploading images and descriptions for auction items was simple, and the auction manager made it easy to solicit sponsors, share auction items on social media and email, and track bidders. They also had some pretty good resources to help you run a successful auction.
The website boasts 6,700 customers, and the 330,000+ shoppers in the BiddingForGood bidding community. As I wrote this post their “goodometer” measured over $160,392,000 raised.
The neat thing is that you don’t have to be personally involved with a nonprofit to participate. It’s a great website to visit when you are shopping for just about anything – tickets for a sporting event, a handbag, toys, electronics, you name it. You can find some great deals, and you know you’re helping a good cause.
In the auction I ran, a diplomat from Washington D.C. purchased a leather bag donated by a board member. The person had lost theirs while traveling and was so happy to have found the same type of bag through our auction. And they got to support a great organization at the same time. They couldn’t have been happier.
Next time you’re looking to purchase something, consider browsing the items at BiddingForGood.
If anything, it’s a great excuse to do some online shopping!
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