eBay: The Missing Manual

eBay Giving Works

Most people sell on eBay for one simple reason: to make money. But you can give some (or all) of the profit to causes you support through eBay Giving Works, shown in Figure 8-13. The program lets sellers select and donate to nonprofit organizations through their eBay sales. Since 2000, eBayers have raised more than $40 million for good causes.

You can donate to the charity of your choice anywhere from 10 to 100 percent of the final selling price of an item. There's a $10 minimum donation, though, so inexpensive items don't work well in charity auctions. There are about 5,000 registered nonprofits to choose from, so it's not hard to find a cause you can support.

Nonprofit interests range from the arts and humanities to animals and the environment to civic and religious groups, as shown in Figure 8-14.

Figure 8-13. The Giving Works home page (http://pages.ebay.com/givingworks) lets buyers search or browse just for charity auctions. The right-hand side of the page spotlights auctions and nonprofit groups.

Figure 8-14. To find a nonprofit group, start on eBay's home page, then select Giving Works (Charity) → "search the nonprofit directory." You can search by mission category, by state, or by name if you already have a specific charity in mind. You can also browse nonprofits ...