Click-to-donate site

For websites where people donate their own money, see crowdfunding.

A click-to-donate site is a website where users can click a button to generate a donation for a charity without spending any of their own money. The money for the donation comes from advertisers whose banners are displayed each time a user clicks the button.^[1][2] While not directly contributing (though many sites offer additional ways of support), visitors are making a difference in the sense that, had they not visited, no donation would have been given.

In most cases, the donation generated by each user only amounts to a few cents, but the goal is to accumulate enough clicks to add up to a significant amount.

Many charities launched this style of program in the late 1990s. However, the constriction of online advertising spending around 2001 following the dot-com collapse caused many sites to be closed. Yet there are still many in operation, notably Freerice,^[3] The Hunger Site, and Por Los Chicos.^[4]

Flattr and CentUp (now defunct) used click-to-donate technology on many sites instead of being centralized on just one.^[5]

See also

• Crowdfunding
• Microfinance