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.
