Search Engine Allows for Charitable Donations

By Staff Writer Laurel Ferretti

GoodSearch.com is a search engine that allows the web user to contribute money to a charity of his or her choice just by searching the web. The capital donated is received from web advertising fees that are, in turn, advanced to the selected charity.

“Fifty percent of the revenue generated from advertisers is shared with the charity,” says GoodSearch.com. The site supports U.S. groups that are “registered non-profits,” including schools, professional and religious-affiliated programs.

Many students are unaware of the search engine, powered by Yahoo. The legitimacy of GoodSearch.com was questioned by many who first learned of it. “As long as it’s legal, it’s fine,” said sophomore film and video studies major Daniel Lagdameo.

Intrigue for the site also rests in its ability to aid real organizations that deliver services to those in various forms of need. Freshman early childhood education major Karyn Sykes is supportive of the idea for the reason that the commercial advertisement money is being directed to groups that are able to aid those who can significantly benefit from the profits.

GoodSearch.com supports U.S. groups which are—“registered non-profits”—including schools, professional and religious-affiliated programs. The site has aided and raised thousands of dollars for organizations such as The American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Save Darfur.

When presented with the opportunity to help others while using a normal search engine, George Mason University students stated that they would use GoodSearch.com for those charitable reasons. Freshman Cara Shaffer, a business major, said “giving back” was worth using the search engine several times a day.

Some students find enjoyment in contributing to these charities. The charity might even make the difference in a selective decision and motivate the web user to employ the use of the website for that specific personal and relatable cause.

Freshman undeclared major Sohoaib Jaffarani noted that he would only use GoodSearch.com if he felt compelled to support a charity of strong decision.

Many Mason students are willing to recognize those in need and use GoodSearch.com as a way of helping them.
Conversely, other students decline the use of GoodSearch.com based on personality and preference. Some recognize the site’s benefits, but are not interested in being aggressively proactive involving an Internet cycle.

Sykes stated that she dislikes the methodology of these programs, as it disagrees with her practice concerning the Web.

Lagdameo stated that he prefers Google to Yahoo. Therefore, with a search-engine powered by Yahoo, he believes GoodSearch.com will not work as effectively as Google, and so he will not use it.

Sophomore global affairs major Brad Trotter quickly decided that he would use GoodSearch.com, '50 percent' of the time, and Shaffer also came to the same conclusion. The charities and causes that students mentioned that they would donate to ranged from programs that provide food to the hungry, cancer research, Invisible Children and George Mason University.

According to the site, approximately one penny is donated every time a web search is conducted using GoodSearch.com.
Disadvantages of the site are that URL or popular sites are not compatible with the search portion and thus do not count towards donations. The websites that are not awarded credit include Facebook, MySpace, AOL, etc.

There is also a warning against fraudulent, incessant clicking, which can ultimately omit the choice of one’s charity. However, GoodSearch.com is a search engine that provides aid to charities, schools and businesses. Many Mason students are willing to help out those in greater need than themselves, and GoodSearch.com offers this ability at no cost.