Goodsearch.com searches help support charities

College students now can help support their favorite school or charity
simply by doing what’s already done on a daily basis: searching the
Internet.

The recently-launched Internet search engine Goodsearch.com donates
money to nonprofit organizations with every search performed.

“Fifty percent of our revenue – which equates to about a penny per
search – is donated to the users’ favorite charity,” said co-founder
Ken Ramberg.

A charity with 1,000 supporters completing a search four times a day
can earn more than $14,000 each year, he said.

Goodsearch.com was founded by Ramberg and his sister, JJ, in 2004
and the Web site was launched in November 2005.

Ramberg got involved with numerous charitable organizations after
his mother passed away from cancer in 2001.

“I came to recognize how difficult it was for (charities) to raise
money,” he said. “It’s to help generate funds for organizations, but
also to increase awareness.”

The former founder of MonsterTRAK, a job listing and
résumé database for college students on Monster.com,
Ramberg has plenty of experience when it comes to the Internet.

“It (Goodsearch.com) is a way to support your favorite organization
while doing what you do every day – without having to reach into your
pockets,” he said.

Goodsearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine, which means users
receive the same high-quality search results they would expect from
Yahoo, Ramberg said.

Since half the revenues go to charitable organizations, the new
search engine depends greatly on its valuable patrons’ grassroots
following to get the word out.

It’s possible to run a Web site on only 50 percent of revenues, so
they need to run a very lean operation, Ramberg said. The site
currently relies on only a dozen people and Ramberg himself is not
receiving a paycheck.

“We’re very excited about the potential to help out so many
charities,” he said.

Goodsearch.com has been gaining recognition on college campuses
across the nation. Dance marathons have taken place at Penn State
University, Bowling Green State University and the University of Iowa
to support the site.

CMU’s Volunteer Center currently is not in collaboration with
Goodsearch, said Michael Waas Smith, graduate assistant for the
Volunteer Center.

He said, however, the center might be interested in it.

“We support any activities that support worthy causes,” Smith said.

Ramberg said they hope to be able to donate millions of dollars each
year to charities and schools.