Steal My Ideas, Please

Here’s a win-win for charities and advertisers. It’s a site where companies get good publicity in exchange for matching contributions to charities. Plus it’s a way for philanthropic, benevolent souls to get more bang for their buck. Basically, works like this: Charities and companies with existing matching-contribution programs sign up, agreeing to link to the site. Charities and companies interested in finding a partner also sign up, expressing interest, sharing contact information. Everyone involved gets logos and links prominently displayed, so visitors can easily find out more. Best of all, to spur curiosity and repeat visits, the site should have counters for which partnerships have generated the most support — as well as how far campaigns have to go to reach their goals. Could be a site for individual philanthropists, too — citizens willing to say, “I’ll match others’ gifts, up to such and such.”