ShopForGood.net is pleased to announce the launch of our 4-Day “Holiday Happenings” Event, beginning on Nov. 26^th (“Black Friday”) and running thru Nov. 29^th (“Cyber Monday”).  Each day, we will feature 3 great retail banners on our Today’s Special page – including Toys R Us, Macy’s, Wal-mart, Kmart, Barnes & Noble, and Santa-Claus.com (for amazing “Letters from Santa”). Your purchases made thru these Today’s Special featured retail banners throughout the 4 days will benefit a fantastic charity, Starlight Children’s Foundation, which helps seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation thru entertainment, education and family activities. During SFG’s 4-Day “Holiday Happenings” Event, we will donate 3% – 25% of your net purchase (which varies by retailer) to Starlight Children’s Foundation!  This can really add up. Here’s a fantastic example: for a $100 Barnes & Noble purchase, SFG will donate $6 (6%) to Starlight Children’s Foundation! Click on our “Today’s Special” tag for details November 26th – 29th. You can also learn more about Starlight Children’s Foundation and the great work they do, by visiting  www.starlight.org. And beginning December 1st, SFG’s Today’s Special will be featuring  “12 Days of Children’s Charities” - a great opportunity to learn about (and support!) some great organizations that focus on children’s needs.

Of course, if you wish to support your own favorite charity (from our list of over 1300) instead, simply by-pass our Today’s Special page and shop thru our SFG Store Directory banners. We will donate the percentage amount listed for each retailer to your chosen cause. Remember, once you click on the retailer’s banner, you’ll be re-directed to that retailer’s homepage and make your purchase with them. Within a few days of your purchase, SFG receives notification from our affiliate partners that a purchase has been made. The information is encoded with the charity you selected, allowing SFG to track our donation obligations accurately. (For a complete listing of our 3rd Quarter results/donations, check out our website’s blog posting).

This holiday season, charities everywhere are experiencing greater need. ShopForGood.net is the perfect way for everyone to support their favorite cause (at no additional cost!) simply by originating their holiday shopping thru us. What a great way to truly embrace the meaning of this special season. With more than 850 amazing retailers, we’re a veritable treasure trove of online shopping, so you are sure to find everything you need to satisfy everyone on your gift list.  We’ve even heard – from some pretty reliable sources – that Santa has been shopping online at ShopForGood.net this year!  Why not consider making our motto your New Year’s Resolution: Change the way you shop. Do a world of good.”

SFG’s Quarterly Report: 7/01/10 – 9/30/10

SFG is very happy to report the results of our first Quarter. Though the fiscal quarter began in July, we did not officially launch ShopForGood.net until August 2, 2010… so in just 2 short months, we feel we have produced some very good results, thanks to the support of our first registered users, AmbassadorForGood participants, and “Today’s Special” shoppers. Thanks to all of you, last week ShopForGood.net sent out checks to 23 charities, totaling  $804.36 – which goes to show that even small on-line purchases can add up to nice donations. We have already heard from several charities that are not only appreciative of the donations, but are also excited about our concept and eager to alert their supporters about ShopForGood.net!  The following is a list of charities that recieved checks following our end-of-quarter results, and the amounts that they have recieved :

We would also like to thank our shoppers that have accrued less than $25.00 for their selected charity over the course of this quarter; these amounts have been carried over to the current quarter, as per our quarterly donation guidelines. (You can read an explaination for this on our website, under FAQ’s).  Once more, thank you to everyone that has helped to make our first quarter successful, and for embracing our motto:  “Change the way you shop. Do a world of good.”

Spook-tacular Banner Weekend!

It has been very busy here at ShopForGood.net since our last blog post…but it’s all good! We continue to be amazed by the response we’ve received, both by visitors to our website and by the charities that we’ve been communicating  with directly. We’ve made some great new friends at The Trevor Project, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, Jane Addams Hull House Association, Literacy Chicago, Blind Childrens Center and The Elephant Sanctuary, just to name a few. Recently, these great organizations have been among those featured in our daily “Today’s Special” and we’re pleased to welcome some very enthusiastic supporters of these charities as registered users.

We’ve also added some fantastic new retailers to our roster, in time for that new Fall wardrobe. You can now find Dickies, Wet Seal, Banana Republic and Old Navyat ShopForGood.net, and we couldn’t be more excited! We’ve also partnered with Old Navy Big & Tall- which is only available online. At ShopForGood.net we’re constantly working to bring you the stores you know and love, as well as introducing you to some unique new retailers; we want to become your one-stop shop for all of your online merchandise. And speaking of merchandise…we’ve created a special “Halloween” store category (you’ll find it on our Store Directory, at the top of the category listings). Go there, and you’ll find everything you need to make your Halloween special. From costume retailers and candy companies to seasonal home decor and party supply outlets – we’ve left no stone unturned to bring you the best Halloween offerings on the web!

And while we’re on the topic of Halloween, now is a great time to remind you about SFG’s Halloween Spook-tacular Banner Weekend, September 24th, 25th & 26th. We’re running 2 banners for this unique 3-Day long “Today’s Special” and featuring Spirit Halloween Store & Candy.com so you can get all of your Halloween shopping done early(and conveniently). Best of all, ShopForGood.net will donate 10% of net purchases from both retailers to Make-A-Wish Foundation of America – an organization that is dedicated to granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. Not only is this the perfect opportunity to score this year’s hottest costumes and scariest decorations before the stores are picked-over, it’s also a great way to teach your kids the importance of giving back to others.

With our Facebook Page and Facebook Ads, our Google Ad Campaign and the ‘shout-outs’ we’ve been getting ,  from charities, our name is getting out there, and so is our message. Our daily website traffic has more than doubled in the last two weeks – and for this we are very grateful. Each new day seems busier than the last. When we launched ShopForGood.net 2 months ago, like all new business ventures, there were things we didn’t know for sure. But there were two things we were absolutely certain of:

• We have an amazing concept in ShopForGood.net!
• If you build it…they will come.

Thanks for stopping by. We hope you love our website – and what we are doing – as much as we do. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your co-workers and everyone you know about us. Change the way you shop. Do a world of good!

On Saturday, September 4th ShopForGood.net will launch a 3-Day Care Campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Every year, millions of people tune in to watch the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon over Labor Day weekend, so we thought we would do our best to pitch in for this great cause as well. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, our “Today’s Special” will list MDA as the featured charity. A different retailer will be featured each day: Saturday is Starbucks (7% donation), Sunday is Barnes & Noble (5% donation), and Monday is P&G e-Store (Proctor & Gamble, 5% donation). You might want to plan your on-line shopping accordingly, and take advantage of this great opportunity to help “Jerry’s Kids”  simply by shopping for the things you need anyway.

If you’re low on coffee or tea, or need a new travel mug for that morning commute… or you need to pick up this month’s book club selection – or maybe that new cd or dvd… or you need to stock up on cleaning supplies, or even some Cover Girl make-up, now is the time to do it. Recently, we went out to the P&G e-Store ourselves and priced a custom “Market Basket” of household items we buy every month at our local grocery store. The total came to $110.00 ($105.00 for items + $5.00 shipping and NO TAX!). That means about a $5.00 donation to MDA – and it didn’t cost us anything extra! Plus, we don’t have to lug all the stuff home from the store. In a few days, it will simply arrive on our doorstep. Not only convenient, but philanthropic! In fact, we’re planning to set up a monthly Market Basket delivery, so we don’t even have to think about it. That way, we’ll never have to use our shampoo as bath soap because we forgot to run to the store yesterday. And best of all, over the course of a year, we’ll generate about $60.00 in donations. Not too bad. Imagine if 10 people did this. Or 100. Or 1000.

ShopForGood.net wishes Jerry Lewis the best of luck as he tries to top last year’s total of $60.5 million. Did you know that there are over 40 different diseases researched under the MDA Program “umbrella” ? Please take a moment to read our “Today’s Special”  this weekend and learn about the amazing work MDA does for patients and families affected by a host of neuro-muscular diseases. While no Labor Day weekend would be complete without the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon… we hope some day there will be no need for one, because muscular dystrophy will be a thing of the past.

This week’s “aha” moments.

This has been a hectic week! Our website traffic continues to grow, in fact we had our biggest day last Wednesday – and our Facebook page now boasts 131 fans as of this post. One of the most exciting moments for us since our launch also happened last week, not coincidentally on that same Wednesday.  That day (August 18th) our Wizard of Oz themed “Today’s Special” listed The Trevor Project as our featured charity. We had contacted The Trevor Project the day before, via e-mail, to let them know. Not only did they post our link (complete with logo) on their Facebook page, they also gave us a nice  little written “into.”  Did I mention that their page has over 48,000 fans? At last count, the posting garnered 28 thumbs up, and we received several new registered users! 

That kind of instant exposure has been an “aha” moment for us this week – as Oprah would say. Another aha moment came to us during the Emmy’s, as we listened to George Clooney’s acceptance speech for the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. He spoke of how people want to help in times of crisis, but often forget about the problem two or three or five months down the line – though the need may still be great. This fact is one of the very reasons we developed ShopForGood.net. We wanted to provide an opportunity for people to routinely support their favorite cause, in a manner that was fun, and easily maintainable. We also think our format is just plain smart in tough economic times. For many people, the idea of whipping out their checkbooks and writing a nice fat donation to a cause – or buying a ticket to that $300-a-plate fundraiser is just not ‘do-able’ these days. Not when that same $300 could be spent on school supplies, a new pair of shoes, that bestseller you’ve been meaning to read, and that gift-card for Aunt Sally’s birthday. It’s not that people don’t want to give – it’s just that what they have is being stretched a little thinner.

That’s the beauty of ShopForGood.net. With each on-line purchase, you are making a small difference. Naturally, the amount we donate varies from retailer to retailer (based on their referral rate) and granted, some are only 1 or 2 percent. But many are 4, 5, or 6 percent and greater. Call it “micro-philanthropy” – the point is, it can really add up. It’s like that glass jar, or plastic tub, or old coffee-can we all have tucked away somewhere that we drop our spare change into. At some point, the coins start spilling over the top. We go to lift it (nearly giving ourselves a hernia in the process) and cart it to the bank, or the CoinStar machine. Then our eyes pop out of our heads when we realize that we had $297.63 in spare change. Now while that nice little windfall may put a slight spring in our step for a day or two, it likely will not change our lives. But it might provide enough mosquito netting to stave off malaria for 40 families in Africa. Or medications, food and drinkable water to people in places of extreme crisis, like Haiti and Pakistan. Or purchase 25 new books for a library, or give an underprivileged child the musical instrument that will unlock their future. Or rescue a few dogs from certain death and put them into loving homes, or staff a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline for troubled youth. Or fund research for a new treatment for MS or for cancer. The possibilities are endless for what that $297.63 might mean to someone else. Most charities these days would be thrilled to receive that gift. Our aim at ShopForGood.net is to make that happen over and over again, every time you buy that pet food, or that new CD, or that pair of sneakers, or send flowers to your mom, or buy ink cartridges for your printer. You may not even realize the impact you are making, but we can guarantee you this much: someone will recognize it, and be thankful. Perhaps this can be your “aha” moment this week: Change the way you shop. Do a world of good!

By the way, this coming Saturday, Sunday & Monday (Labor Day Weekend) ShopForGood.net will be running a 3-Day Care Campaign to benefit “Jerry’s Kids” at MDA. This, of course, coincides with the annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon. Each day, we’ll be featuring one of our most popular retailers:  Saturday 9/4 will be Starbucks (7% donation),  Sunday 9/5 will be Barnes & Noble (5%),  and Monday 9/6 will be P & G Shop – Proctor & Gamble (5%). So if you are going to be in the market for coffee, tea, books, cds/dvds, or cleaning/household supplies this week, why not plan your shopping accordingly? Help us give “Jerry’s Kids” and MDA a nice show of support!

Finding Our Voice In The Crowd

This month, ShopForGood.net experienced it’s “official” launch. There was little fanfare, just a quiet roll-out to get our feet wet and get some initial feedback on our site. We sent out e-mails and Facebook postings, we made phone calls and begged everyone we knew to spread the word: ShopForGood.net was now ready for prime time! We divided up responsibilities and made our “to-do” lists, and traded a flurry of e-mails back and forth with our very patient website programmers, making last minute changes, a few alterations here and there, and then held our breath the morning we went “live.” We knew we had developed a concept we thought was special, and a website  we thought was engaging. What we didn’t know was what others were going to think, and how they would respond. What we have learned in a few short weeks is that we were right: ShopForGood.net is something special.

We are thrilled with the response we’ve received thus far, and are very encouraged by the comments we have been getting from our first users. We have also set up our ShopForGood.net Facebook page, and our Twitter account (Shopforgoodnet) so we are well connected – and this week we began a series of ads appearing on Facebook, and each day we have exceeded the number of “clicks” we were expecting. We have also been pleasantly surprised by the build-up of daily traffic we are seeing. We do love those “unique” visitors!  Meanwhile, we have added 21 new charities to our Charity List at the request of users, published several AmbassadorForGood pages, and have been adding some great new retailers like Build A Bear, Allen Edmonds Shoes, Journeys and NutriSystem. Late last week our programmers were able to make a dramatic improvement in the speed of our site, and this week, several other improvements made their debut, including this Blog.

Since we’re completely new to the blogging thing, we’d be fibbing if we said we weren’t a bit nervous about it. How much to say? How often to say it? Who’s going to read it? Will anyone care? Well, we understand that your time is precious, and there are so many other ways you could be spending your time… so the fact that you are reading this really means something to us. We hope that we can bring something new and interesting to you, and earn your respect and trust.

Answering the call in Pakistan: Day 3 of SFG’s 3-Day Care Campaign

Today wraps up our 3-Day push to aid the people of Pakistan as they struggle to overcome the devastation of the floods. Recent reports suggest that financial aid is finally beginning to pick up in the form of donations to some of the humanitarian agencies that are on the ground in Pakistan, doling out food and water, medical supplies and other essentials. But the response is still not nearly enough. Public awareness and concern in the US stands in stark contrast to the immediate outpouring of cash immediately following the earthquake in Haiti. In the days and weeks ahead, it seems inevitable that the story will grow far more grim if the crisis does not receive the attention and reporting it deserves, and relief organizations cannot provide the essentials necessary to sustain life. Here’s a great way you can help: take advantage of our “Today’s Special”  from our homepage, or by following this link:   http://www.shopforgood.net/   or by clicking  on the “Today’s Special”  link to the right of this page. Shop the drugstore.com banner today and ShopForGood.net will donate 10% of your purchase to Friends of the World Food Program. This organization – an off-shoot of the UN – has been one of the first-responders to the crisis in Pakistan. Of course, you might also consider a direct donation to Friends of the World Food Program also. To learn more about this amazing organization, visit: www.usa.wfp.org

Answering the call in Pakistan: Day 2 of SFG’s 3-Day Care Campaign

Today our ShopForGood.net Care Campaign continues. Throughout the day, I have received e-mails from American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF and the UN’s World Food Program. In each instance, the plea for help was loud and clear: the situation in Pakistan is desperate and growing worse. The monsoon rains continued this past weekend. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are scrambling to find the most basic of essentials…clean water to drink, some food and shelter. Millions of people are at risk of diarrhea, cholera and other diseases. Many people dependent on medications for existing medical conditions have gone without their medicines for days, if not weeks. Many Pakasanis are separated from family members, many children orphaned…many people wandering alone, traumatized. And sadly, the International response continues to be lackluster, despite the fact that Pakistan is the 6th most populous country in the world, is a member of the UN, is considered an major non-NATO ally of the US and is one of the G20 Developing Nations. As political debate in the US seems to become more polarized over the issue of a Muslim Mosque & Comunity Center being built in lower Manhattan within a few blocks of Ground Zero, it would seem as though the people of Pakistan – the Islamic Republic of Pakistan – are being ignored, their plight being under-reported. Consequently, the International relief organizations are faced with the impossible: offering humanitarian aid in the absence of humanitarians. ShopForGood.net hopes that our shoppers will consider taking part in our Care Campaign by shopping “Today’s Special” on our SFG Homepage (or accessable by using this link: http://www.shopforgood.net/  or clicking on the “Today’s Special” link to the right of this page. Shop the Barnes & Noble banner today, and ShopForGood.net will donate 6% of your purchase to Doctors Without Borders. Of Course, you might also consider donating directly to this terrific organization. To donate directly or learn more about Doctors Without Borders, visit: www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Answering the call in Pakistan: Day 1 of SFG’s 3-Day Care Campaign

The images are disturbing. The death toll is rising and the tragedy grows worse by the hour in Pakistan, which has been devastated by the worst flooding in nearly a century. The problem began in July, when record heavy monsoon rains fell – and continued well into August. Nearly one million homes have been destroyed – many of them totally washed away – leaving countless people homeless and without resources. In some areas, floodwater height approached 18 ft, with water currents sweeping virtually everything along in its wake. In the Punjab region, perhaps the hardest hit, 1,500,000 acres of crops are completely ruined, making an already economically troubled Pakistan desperate for help.

Currently, 13.8 million people have been affected by the flooding, many of them children. International relief agencies on the ground in Pakistan are overwhelmed and in need of funds. The International response to this crisis has been slow and underwhelming despite the ferocity and magnitude of this disaster. Even the Press has been shockingly reticent to cover this story, despite the central political role Pakistan plays in the US efforts to fight terrorism.

ShopForGood.net believes in the humanitarian work that International relief organizations perform all over the world; they are always the first ones there when disaster strikes – no matter where it strikes – and they must operate under extreme and often perilous circumstances. For this reason, ShopForGood.net has launched a 3-Day Care Campaign to assist the people of Pakistan affected by the floods. Each of the 3 days, a different retailer will be paired with a different International relief agency, and ShopForGood.net will donate 100% of our commisissions on your purchases. You can take part in the SFG Care Campaign by shopping our “Today’s Special” from our homepage, or follow this link: http://www.shopforgood.net/ 

“Today’s Special” for Day 1: shop the Kmart banner and ShopForGood.net will donate 4% of your purchase to the American Red Cross. To learn more about the American Red Cross or to donate directly, visit: www.redcross.org