We completely understand that in these hard economic times, it is almost unfathomable to believe that anyone would “give away“ money.  Free money? Yeah, right! There has to be a catch! So, we figured the best way to ensure our visitors that there is no catch is to explain exactly how the program works and how we can afford to do what we do.

Online shopping incentive programs are nothing new. There are literally thousands of very successful reward programs in place. As a matter of fact, there are many other donation sites that deliver a similar, if not the exact same donation GivingJoe provides to our non-profit organizations. Our business model is what sets us apart.

As a general rule of thumb, the percentage you see listed on charitable donation sites is approximately one half of the actual amount the company receives from purchases generated through their website. This isn’t because the owners of the site are greedy; this amount is actually dictated by the internal revenue service. According to the federal law, 50% of income is the maximum amount allowed to be donated tax free.

So what happens to the other 50%? The remaining income is realized by the originating company and is used to cover expenses and pay the investors of the company. This is a very successful win-win-win for all parties involved. It is a seamless transaction! The shopper is happy with the purchase they planned to make to begin with, the charity is happy with the donation they received and the investors are happy with their profit. What could be better? Well, the GivingJoe business model takes this one step further!

Rather than keeping that profit to ourselves and going on our merry way, GivingJoe continues to share. As you can see by the illustration below, our business model was developed by students with other students and education in mind. Instead of any one person or entity retaining all the profits, our profits are redistributed to students pursuing continuing education, to fund our “Change the Future” educational reimbursement program, to facilitate an annual global educational project, to fund merit-based scholarships and finally reinvested in the company for future growth and marketing. We were founded as a for profit company by individuals with a long history of philanthropy, willing to reinvest the profits in the future. The future of the next generation; to create a better world for all of us!