Micro-donation or microphilanthropy is a form of

charitable donation The practice of charity is the voluntary giving of help to those in need, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. There are a number of philosophies about charity, often associated with religion. Etymology The word ''charity'' ori ...

that is small in the donated amount. In the past, micro-donations have been used most effectively by companies collecting spare change at registers and checkouts. Recently, this form of

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

has become more popular with the advent of online and

mobile donating Mobile donating refers to donating (to an organization) using a mobile device. Mobile donating is primarily done through an SMS or a phone call. Mobile donating process Premium SMS donations: Text messaging, or SMS, is the primary means of mobi ...

. In addition to the more traditional forms of donating, like giving directly from person to person, both the internet and mobile-phones have become more accepted by the public for collecting donations. Micro-donations of $200 or less have made up an ever-larger share of nomination fundraising in the three United States presidential primary elections since 2000. (In this measurement a person who donates $190 twice to a candidate has given two micro-donations, but is not a micro-donor). Micro-donations accounted for 25% of the total donations for the United States presidential election in 2000. This figure rose to 34% in 2004 and 38.8% in 2008.

Supporting technology

Microphilanthropy requires the ability to deal with a large number of small interactions efficiently. If a successful approach also includes implementing a fundraising drive that utilizes microphilanthropic resources connected to a specific charity, the approach must also include a structure or "middleman" technology that allows for an effective, efficient aggregation and distribution of microphilanthropic donations. For example, the US-based nonprofit

Zidisha Zidisha allows people to lend small amounts of money directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries. It is the first peer-to-peer microlending service to link borrowers and lenders across international borders without a local microfinance ins ...

offers an

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

-style peer-to-peer

microlending :''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropayme ...

platform, which uses internet and mobile phone technology to deliver services between lenders and borrowers directly across international borders without local intermediaries.

References

{{Reflist Micropayment Philanthropy Activism by type Giving Peer-to-peer charities Private aid programs

Supporting technology

See also

References