LatinaLista — The official countdown to Christmas is underway! For some, or most, it’s the official countdown to holiday debt. But not all gifts have to cost money. Sometimes, it’s just the act of re-gifting that can prove more valuable than something brand new.
At least, that’s the hope of a new online business that connects donors with cause-based organizations and campaigns. Called The Giving Effect, the Brooklyn, New York-based site strives to create a national movement to get “food, gently-used items, and more to people in need.”
The Giving Effect features a growing list of non-profits and cause-based campaigns — so far, 1,048 causes have been created — that potential donors can choose from to which they can make a donation.
Requests range from office or gardening supplies to easy reader books for struggling children in school to supplies for neglected horses to even building supplies to help build homes in Ecuador. There is also a demand for food and money too.
Ideally, the site’s creators would like to match donors with local causes and that is the eventual plan since the site features a place for people to type in their zip codes. But right now, the site is still spreading the word that it’s open for business.
However, as The Giving Effect clearly illustrates with its rapid growth in just a few short months since it launched, it won’t take long for more organizations to join The Giving Effect since there is need everywhere.
Developers have created three ways for people to get involved with the site: by creating a cause; being a donor or connecting with causes through a business entity.
The Giving Effect uses social media to help donors discover and connect with organizations that need items such as clothes, shoes, and food. It’s the first website to create stories around each in-kind donation that can be easily shared online to inspire others to give. The goal is to create a national movement to get food, gently-used items, and more to people in need.
