Retailers and marketing groups are joining with charities online for a new type of cyber-synergy, hoping that Christmas shopping and holiday giving will stimulate each other. About a third of them take donations online. Charity groups and Internet experts are just starting to track the online donation trend but predict it will skyrocket as more charities jump in, more donors hear about it, and people get more comfortable giving credit card information online. According to Independent Sector, a Washington-based coalition of volunteer organizations, of the 70 percent of American households that gave to charity this year, only about 1 percent used the Web to do so. This is really the first year online fund-raising has been significant, Melendez added, but charities hope the convenience of the Internet will draw new donors.
People can do it in their own time.
With the excitement come the warnings. You can create a very impressive Web site that doesn't have much behind it at relatively low cost. One new issue is how to regulate charities soliciting online, Weiner added. Generally, states take the lead in overseeing charities operating in their states, but the online phenomenon has added a wrinkle to that.