Abstract:
A method and system for soliciting online donations is disclosed. The method comprises defining the terms of a challenge. Next, an invitation to donate is generated that includes the terms of the challenge. Typically, the terms of the challenge are a matching donation such that the challenger will match donations to a prescribed amount. Finally, the invitation to donate is sent to at least one invitee with a computer connected to a network of computers. The invitee can reply to the challenge by making a donation with his or her computer. The method is performed by a web-based donation application that can be accessed through the web browser of a challenger or invitee.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/236,401 filed Sep. 28, 2000 entitled “Method and System for Matching Donations”, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention generally relates to a method of matching donations utilizing the Internet.  
           [0004]    2. Status of the Related Art  
           [0005]    Challenge grants are donation schemes whereby an individual (“donor” or “champion”) will challenge friends, peers, relatives and/or colleagues (“invitees” or “referrals”) to make a charitable donation to the donor&#39;s favorite nonprofit organization(s). The donor issues a challenge (matching) grant based on the donor&#39;s defined criteria. In this type of system, the donor can limit the amount of the gift that he or she will give based upon the amount donated by friends and/or families. For example, the donor can specify that he or she will match dollar for dollar amounts given by his or her friends or relatives up to a maximum amount. In this respect, the donor can limit the amount of his or her matching gift.  
           [0006]    Typical challenge grants are implemented using traditional fund-raising campaigns. In such campaigns, solicitation for the challenge grant is delivered either via mail or telephone to the invitees. As such, the traditional challenge grant campaigns have relied heavily on one-to-one personal meetings. This type of approach is both time-consuming and expensive with results that are often abysmal. The success of these campaigns is reliant upon getting the information to the invitees who wish to make a donation.  
           [0007]    Recently, fund-raising for nonprofit organizations has moved to the Internet. Nonprofit organizations, as well as fund-raising organizations, have created Web pages for soliciting donations. The amount and type of donations can be posted and tracked. Additionally, the organizations will email prospective donors to solicit gifts and spread their mission and beliefs instantly via the Internet. However, donors are not involved in choosing the recipients of the email. As such, donors are not actively involved in the solicitation of gifts using the Internet. Additionally, there is no system in place for challenging invitees for matching the donor&#39;s grant.  
           [0008]    Additionally, organizations soliciting donations over the Internet have not been able to receive stock certificates in lieu of cash. The organizations have been limited to cash donations for online fund-raising due to the complexity of stock transfers. As such, the online fund-raising ability of these organizations has been greatly decreased.  
           [0009]    The present invention addresses the above-mentioned deficiencies in prior art donation schemes by providing a system and method whereby challenge grants are issued using the power of the Internet. In this respect, a donor has the ability to use the present invention to issue challenges to selected invitees by using the Internet. The present invention thereby allows a donor the opportunity to instantly access donation results and track campaigns in order to target potential invitees. Furthermore, the present invention allows online stock transfers which greatly enhances fund-raising opportunities.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The present invention is a system and method of issuing challenge grants using the Internet. Specifically, the system is an online tool by which a donor issues invitations to invitees to make a charitable donation to the donor&#39;s favorite nonprofit organization. The online tool allows a donor to issue a challenge grant based on the donor&#39;s pre-defined criteria (a donor defined algorithm) such as matching donations dollar to dollar, up to a donor-specified amount for each invitee; matching donations based on a donor-specified percentage of each dollar, up to a donor-specified amount for each invitee; matching on a tiered basis, whereby donor matches varying amounts depending on how much each invitee donates; or matching a bonus amount based on a high level of participation from a collective group of invitees.  
           [0011]    The present invention also allows invitees to respond to a donor&#39;s challenge and donate to a selected charity in a variety of ways such as transferring stock to the charity via an online stock transfer system, writing a check and mailing the check to the charity, using online credit card payment systems, or raising money from their peers by, in turn, challenging their peers to give through the online system. In this respect, the present invention provides an online tool for invitees to make donations and/or challenge others to make donations to their favorite nonprofit organization.  
           [0012]    The present invention facilitates online campaigns, and encourages a “viral” approach to securing funds for nonprofit organizations. By allowing a donor and potential donors the opportunity to track campaigns, those who have not yet given may be inspired to contribute. The mode, which would be entirely online, allows for groups of individuals to: (a) designate how various “levers” will be used to determine charities; (b) vote online at any time; and (c) view results of votes at any time. Votes are tallied and processed in real-time, making it easy to view results. Once recipient charities have been selected, individuals can remit donations online, either through stock, check or credit card.  
           [0013]    By posting campaigns online and offering the opportunity to track campaign processes online, the mechanism will ideally encourage those who have not yet donated to do so. The present invention allows individuals to play a more active role in the charitable giving process, engaging users to have a direct and immediate impact on the decision-making process. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    These, as well as other features of the present invention, will become more apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the operation of the present invention on a computer system.  
         [0016]    FIGS.  2 - 5  are flowcharts showing how a donation is matched using the present invention.  
         [0017]    FIGS.  6  is an email message of a challenge.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a screen shot of a donation screen.  
         [0019]    FIGS.  8 - 14  are flowcharts showing how stock certificates are donated in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 15 is a screen shot of a challenge web page.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 16 is an email showing the status of a challenge. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]    Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention only, and not for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 illustrates an electronic philanthropic system  10  for providing and matching donations, as well as providing stock donations to organizations. The philanthropic system  10  is a Web-based online fund-raising tool that can assist charitable organizations in leveraging the Internet for a good cause. The system  10  can be divided into entities  12  that can be persons or processes that interact directly in the philanthropic system  10 . The entities  12  can initiate campaigns (champions  14 ), donate to charitable organizations (referrals  16 ), perform operations (system  18 ), and maintain overall information (admin  20 ). Each of the entities accesses a web application  22  through an appropriate web browser  24  which supports JavaScript. The web application  22  will be installed on a web server  26  which serves HTTP requests. The web application  22  communicates with database computer  28  in order to access and store information. The database computer  28  is installed with a relational database management system  30  such as Oracle 8i for storing information. The database management system  30  additionally communicates with a system scheduler application  32  which performs actions at regularly scheduled intervals.  
         [0023]    As previously mentioned, the champion  14  is an individual or a group that can initiate the donation process by providing charity and personal contact information, along with donation information to the philanthropic system  10 . The champion  14  can perform the following actions by accessing the web application  22  through his or her web browser  24 :  
         [0024]    1) Provide personal contact information;  
         [0025]    2) Select an existing charity organization;  
         [0026]    3) Request setting up a new charity organization;  
         [0027]    4) Refer friends as prospective donors;  
         [0028]    5) Create a challenge;  
         [0029]    6) Make a donation;  
         [0030]    7) Indicate the mode of transaction for donation;  
         [0031]    8) Send reminders to (a) whole group, (b) referrals who have not taken any action yet, and (c) referrals who have made a donation; and  
         [0032]    9) Send thank you notes with IRS receipt via email to referrals who have donated.  
         [0033]    A referral  16  is a prospective donor who was referred to the web application  22  via an email sent by a champion  14 . As will be further explained below, the email will be a challenge to the referral  16  by the champion  14  to donate to the same organization for which the champion donated. If the referral  16  donates to the same organization as the champion  14  before an expiration date of the challenge, then the champion  14  will have to match the donation as per the criteria created as part of their challenge. A referral  16  can perform the following actions with the web application  22 :  
         [0034]    1) Provide contact information;  
         [0035]    2) Make a donation as part of a champion&#39;s challenge by selecting a link provided in the email from the champion; and  
         [0036]    3) Be champions themselves by creating challenges for the same and/or a different organization. When a referral  16  becomes a champion  14 , only their individual donation will be considered towards the challenge of the champion  14  who referred them in the first place.  
         [0037]    The system  18  is that part of the web application  22  which is taking actions at prescribed times automatically or interactively when champions  14 , referrals  16 , and/or admin  20  are logged on through a browser  24  sending requests and responses. The system  18  builds HTML pages with JavaScript for client-side validation dynamically to be sent back to the client browser. The responsibilities of the system  18  include:  
         [0038]    1) Publish the web application  22  web site;  
         [0039]    2) Verify users;  
         [0040]    3) Store information on donors;  
         [0041]    4) Create challenges for champions  14  with expiration dates;  
         [0042]    5) Send emails to champions  14 , referrals  16  and admin  20 ;  
         [0043]    6) Calculate the final donation amount due for a champion  14  after expiry of challenge;  
         [0044]    7) Process credit card transactions online through an approved vendor;  
         [0045]    8) Store information on new charities requested for setup; and  
         [0046]    9) Report weekly status to champions  14  and admin  20 . This can be manually triggered by the admin  20  such that the status reports can be issued more than once a week such as for challenges with more aggressive timelines.  
         [0047]    The admin  20  is the person who maintains the overall information of the philanthropic system  10 . The admin  20  can access the web application  22  for running reports through a password protected login to the system from his or her browser  24 . The admin  20  would:  
         [0048]    1) Verify and create new organizations that can be given donations;  
         [0049]    2) Receive a donation transaction report from the database  30 ; and  
         [0050]    3) Initiate weekly status report emails to champions  14 .  
         [0051]    As previously mentioned, entities  12  will access the web application  22  through web browser  24 . The entity must log into the philanthropic system  10  in order to gain access to the web application  22 . Referring to FIG. 2, the entity  12  can access the philanthropic system  10  through either an email link  200  or a link from a partner&#39;s page  202 . Alternatively, the entity  12  can access the philanthropic system  10  by typing in the URL for the system  10  in his or her browser  24 , as seen in step  204 . In step  206 , the web application  22  will check the browser  24  of the entity  12  for a cookie which signifies that the entity  12  is a return user. If a cookie is found, then a login screen with the username of the entity  12  is displayed in step  208 . The entity  12  can sign in as a different user in step  214  or enter his or her password which is then submitted and verified in step  210 . If the entity  12  is a verified user, then the entity  12  can proceed to select a charity in step  300 . However, if the entity  12  is not verified in step  201 , then the entity  12  is directed toward a login screen in step  212  where the user can login with a different username and password. Additionally, the entity  12  can login using step  212  if the entity  12  is logging in as a different user or a cookie is not found (step  216 ).  
         [0052]    Once the entity  12  enters the login screen in step  212 , the entity  12  will access a new user info screen in step  218  wherein the entity will enter personal contact information such as his or her name, address, phone number, etc. . . . The new user information will be submitted in step  220  and stored in database  30 . Additionally, a cookie may be added to the browser  24  of the entity  12  to signify that the entity  12  is a returning user the next time the entity  12  accesses the philanthropic system  10 . Once the information of the entity  12  has been stored in database  30 , the entity  12  can select a charity in step  300 .  
         [0053]    Referring to FIG. 3, the entity  12  has the opportunity to select a charity (i.e., organization) as a recipient for a donation. The entity  12  will first have the opportunity to select a charity in step  302 . The entity  12  can choose from a list of organizations or can add his or her own organization. If the entity  12  selects an organization from a pull-down list, then the web application  22  will continue and store information about the entity  12  in step  304 . Once the information has been stored, then the entity  12  can refer and challenge other entities  12  in step  400 . However, if the organization is not listed, the entity  12  can enter the information manually. The entity  12  will be forwarded to a setup screen in step  306 . In step  308 , the entity  12  will enter the name, address, and contact information of the organization. As seen in step  310 , the information will be stored in the database  30  and an email will be sent to the entity  12  informing him or her that the organization will be entered into the database. Additionally, an email will be sent to the admin  20  informing him that a new organization should be entered. A new organization will not be entered until the admin  20  has the opportunity to verify the charitable status of the organization in order to prevent fraud. Finally, the entity  12  is directed to a thank you page in step  312  wherein the entity  12  is informed about the rules and procedures of the philanthropic system  10 .  
         [0054]    Once the entity  12  has decided the organization, then the entity  12  can refer others to donate. Referring to FIG. 4, after the entity  12  has selected his or her organization, the entity  12  will be presented with an invite friends screen in step  402 . The invite friends screen will allow the entity  12  to enter the names and email addresses of the friends (i.e. referrals  16 ) that the entity  12  wishes to send challenges. Additionally, at this time, the entity  12  can enter the message that will be displayed in the email message. Referring to FIG. 6, a sample challenge email message  600  is shown. The challenge email message  600  will contain a body portion  602  which will be a message challenging the referral  16  to make a donation. The message  600  can also contain graphics images  604  which highlight the charitable organizations. Information links  606  provide links to web pages that provide additional information about the charitable organization. Finally, the challenge email message  600  will contain a donate link  610  which is the URL of the philanthropic system  10 . In this respect, if the referral  16  wishes to donate, then by selecting the donate link  610 , the web browser  24  of the referral  16  will automatically be opened to the web application  22  of the philanthropic system  10 . The referral  16  can then proceed with step  204  to make a donation. The challenge message  600  is automatically created by the philanthropic system  10  according to the rules of the champion  14 .  
         [0055]    Eventhough the philanthropic system  10  is being described as being able to solicit donations for a charitable organization, it can also be used in the for-profit arena. For example, a venture capitalist could use the system  10  to challenge others in raising funds for a favored start-up. The system  10  could be used for soliciting dollars, time, goods, etc. in the for-profit arena by providing a network avenue.  
         [0056]    If the entity  12  does not wish to make a challenge at this time, he or she is given the option to skip sending out challenge emails and to proceed directly to the payment info screen in step  500  to make a donation. Otherwise, the names and addresses of referrals  16  will be stored in the database  30  in step  404  and the entity  12  will be forwarded to a challenge screen in step  404 . As seen in step  406 , the entity  12  can then enter the details of the challenge and submit them to the database  30 , or skip the challenge and be forwarded to the payment info screen in step  500 . After the entity  12  has entered the challenge information, the system  10  will determine if the entity  12  (i.e., a champion  14  at this point because a challenge has been issued) is already running a challenge for this organization in step  408 . If so, then the system  10  will display in step  410  that a challenge is already running. If the combination of the champion  14  and the charitable organization is not found, then in step  412 , the specifics of the challenge will be stored in database  30  and the champion  14  will be referred to payment info screen  500 . The champion  14  will enter details about the challenge such as the expiration date of the challenge and the matching amount that the champion  14  is willing to donate.  
         [0057]    The philanthropic system  10  can be utilized to match donations other than just money. It will be recognized that the system  10  can be adapted to match any type of donation. For instance, a champion  14  can challenge referrals  16  to donate goods and services which will be matched by the champion  14 . Each referral  16  could volunteer his or her time to the charitable organization which would then be matched with either time or money by the champion  14 . The system  10  could be set-up to provide reports which track volunteer efforts of the referrals  16 . Alternatively, the challenge can be configured to match donations of goods which the champion  14  will match. Accordingly, the system  10  is adaptable to provide a challenge of any type.  
         [0058]    Referring to FIG. 15, a sample challenge web page  1500  is shown where the champion  14  can enter the details of his or her challenge. As seen by the challenge web page  1500 , the champion  14  can match a dollar to dollar amount up to a prescribed amount in section  1502 . Alternatively, the champion  14  can match a percentage of the dollar amount to be donated in section  1506 . Furthermore, tiered matching is possible in section  1508  where the champion  14  can match funds at different increments depending upon the amount donated by the referral  16 . The champion  14  can also include a bonus program in his or her challenge in section  1510 . If a certain number of referrals donate a prescribed amount, then the champion  14  will provide a bonus to the organization. Finally, with the challenge page  1500 , the champion  14  can determine the expiration date of the challenge in section  1512 . It will be recognized that there are many different types of challenges that can be created and the system  10  can be programmed accordingly so that challenge page  15  can display them all.  
         [0059]    Referring to FIG. 5, the entity  12  is presented with a payment mode screen in step  510  upon being referred to payment info screen  500 . At this point, the entity  12  can submit a donation to the organization previously chosen or skip making a donation. If the entity  12  wishes to skip making a donation, then he or she will be referred to a thank you screen in step  512 . However, if the entity  12  wishes to continue, the entity  12  will submit his or her payment information such as the type of payment that he or she will use to match the donations which are received if the entity  12  is a champion  14 . For instance, the champion  14  can indicate that he or she can match the donations by credit card, stock transfer or with cash or check. Additionally, the payment mode screen in step  510  can be used by a referral  16  to make a donation to the charity organization. The referral  16  can make a donation via either a stock transfer, credit card payment or cash payment. Once the payment information has been submitted in step  510 , the information will be entered into the database  30  in step  514 . Depending upon whether the entity  12  is a champion  14  or a referral  16 , the system  10  will display the corresponding screen. For instance, if the entity  12  is a champion  14 , then the system  10  will calculate the maximum amount that the champion  14  will need to donate in order to match the donations of the referrals  16 . The matching amount will be displayed in step  516 . However if the entity  12  is a referral  16 , then the system  10  will display a screen asking for the contribution amount that the referral  16  wishes to donate. The referral  16  will submit this information in step  516  and it will be recorded by the system  10  in step  518 . Once this information is recorded in the database  30 , the entity  12  will be directed to a thank you screen in step  512  and the process will be completed.  
         [0060]    Referring to FIG. 7, a sample donation web page  700  is shown. The donation web page  700  is generated by the web application  22  and allows the referral  16  to make a donation. The web page  700  includes a personal information section  702  which allows the referral  16  to enter his or her personal information. The web page  700  also includes a payment information section  704  where the method of payment can be chosen and the amount to be donated. In order to allow other information about the donation and the referral  16  to be collected, the web page  700  further includes an inquiry section  706  wherein the referral  16  can answer questions that the champion  14  or the charitable organization might want answered. For instance, the referral  16  might be asked whether he or she is willing to be contacted about other challenges and/or whether he or she wishes to remain anonymous.  
         [0061]    In addition to the foregoing, the philanthropic system  10  is also capable of creating informational web pages and sending emails which track the progress of a specific challenge. Once the entity  12  logs into the system  10 , as shown in FIG. 2, the entity  12  can access information about challenges in progress. For instance, a champion  14  can see which referrals  16  have donated and the amount of donation. Furthermore, a referral  16  could view the progress of a challenge before deciding to donate. The web application  22  is capable of generating the informational web pages which are viewable on the browser  24  of the entity  12 . The informational web pages would provide online, dynamic, real-time tracking functionality. The informational web pages would access information contained within database  30  to generate real-time, viewable reports that are accessible by the champion  14  to monitor and track the progress of his or her challenge. Furthermore, referring to FIG. 16, an update email message  1600  may be sent to champions  14  which update the progress of their challenge. The update email message  1600  may include information such as the terms of the challenge, the charitable organization, the total number of donations, the amount donated, the types of donations, and the names of the donors. It is also possible with the system  10  to customize the update message as desired by the champion  14 .  
         [0062]    The philanthropic system  10  is ideally suited for providing multi-tier challenges wherein a referral  16  will challenge others to donate to the same organization. In turn, other referrals  16  can challenge their friends thereby creating a vast network of referrals  16  which have the opportunity to donate. In the corporate setting (where a corporation is the champion  14 ), the ability to receive donations for the desired charitable organization is greatly enhanced by the multi-tier nature of the philanthropic system  10 .  
         [0063]    As previously discussed above, a referral  16  and a champion  14  can donate and match donations through the transfer of stock. The philanthropic system  10  allows a method for a person to simply and easily perform an electronic stock transfer to a charitable organization. The web application  22  and database  30  are utilized to perform the transaction. Referring back to FIG. 5, the transaction begins when the entity  12  decides to donate stock in step  510 . At that point, the web application  22  will direct the entity  12  to donate step  800  shown in FIG. 8. The system  10  will display a donor data dialogue box in step  802  where the entity  12  can enter information about himself or herself which will be needed to transfer the stock. In step  804 , the donor information is validated, and in step  806 , it is determined whether all of the required data has been filled in and is valid. If the information is not filled in or not correct, then the process proceeds back to step  802 . However, if the correct information has been entered, then the process proceeds to step  808  where the data is processed and step  810  where the data is stored in database  30 . In step  812 , the data is stored in database  30  and if successful, then the process continues to step  814  where an audit trail is updated and the process continues to step  900  where donation data will be captured. If the data is not successfully stored in step  812 , then the transaction is rolled back and an exception is issued in step  816 . The process returns to step  812  where the data is stored in database  30  again.  
         [0064]    Referring to FIG. 9, the process of capturing donation information is shown. The process begins with step  902  wherein a donation data dialogue box is displayed. The entity  12  will enter information about the stock transfer (i.e., type of stock, amount, possession) in step  902 . The information will be validated in step  904  and will be checked to see if all the required information has been entered in step  906 . If the required information has not been entered, then the process will return to step  902  so that the donation data can be updated.  
         [0065]    If the information is correct and valid, then in step  908 , it is determined whether the donor of the stock is in possession of the stock certificates. If the donor has possession, then the process continues to step  910  where a request is issued for certificate and transfer documents. If the donor is not in possession of the stock certificates, then the system  10  will inquire the broker/custodian information for the stock certificates from the donor in step  912 . After receiving broker/custodian information or issuing a transfer document request, the process continues to step  914  where the donation information is stored. Next, the donation information is inserted into the database  30  in step  916  and stored in step  918 . If the data is successfully stored in step  918 , then the audit trail is updated and the process proceeds to capture beneficiary data in step  920 . If the donation data is not successfully stored, then the process continues to step  922  where the transaction is rolled back and the data stored again in step  918 .  
         [0066]    Referring to FIG. 10, the beneficiary data is captured by first displaying a beneficiary data dialogue box in step  1002 . The data is validated in step  1004  and it is determined whether all of the required information has been collected in step  1006 . If all of the data has not been collected, then the process returns to step  1002  for proper entry. Once the beneficiary data has been completely entered, it is determined in step  1008  whether a beneficiary has been selected by the entity  12  donating the stock certificates. Typically, if the donation is the result of a challenge, then the beneficiary will be the organization chosen by the champion  14 . However, the philanthropic system  10  can be used to facilitate a stock transfer to a charitable organization without a challenge being issued. In that instance, the person donating the stock must decide on a beneficiary.  
         [0067]    If a beneficiary has been chosen, then the process continues to step  1010  where the details of the beneficiary are checked. After completing a check of the details, the process continues to step  1100  where the credentials of the beneficiary are checked. Referring to FIG. 11, the beneficiary is checked to determine whether it can receive stock and can be a valid beneficiary in step  1102 . If the beneficiary is valid, then the process returns to step  1012 . However, if the beneficiary is not valid, then the credentials of the beneficiary are checked again in step  1102 . Once it has been determined that the beneficiary is valid, then the process continues to step  1012  where the beneficiary data is combined.  
         [0068]    If the donor has not selected a beneficiary in step  1008 , then the process continues to step  1014  where the donor is given help to select a beneficiary. Specifically, the process proceeds to step  1200  where, as shown in FIG. 12, the donor is asked whether he or she wants to create a challenge campaign in step  1202 . If the donor wishes to create a custom campaign, then the process proceeds to step  1204  where the campaign is created as a challenge, as previously mentioned. Once the campaign has been created, then the beneficiary is recorded in step  1206  and beneficiary processing is continued and returned to step  1012 . If the donor doesn&#39;t wish to create a campaign, then the process continues to step  1208  where beneficiary selection criteria is displayed. The entity  12  will have the opportunity to enter data about the selection criteria of the beneficiary which is validated in step  1210 . In step  1212 , the criteria is checked to see if it has all been filled in and is valid. If it is not valid or not filled in completely, then the process returns to step  1208 . However, if the data is valid, then the criteria is matched with beneficiaries contained within the database  30 . For instance, if the donor wishes to donate stock to organizations which benefit animals, then the SPCA might be a beneficiary that is matched in step  1214 . Once the beneficiary has been matched to the criteria, then the beneficiary data is stored in step  1216  and recorded in step  1206 . The process then continues to step  1012 .  
         [0069]    Referring back to FIG. 10, once the beneficiary data has been determined in step  1012 , then the data is inserted into the database  30  in step  1016 . Next, the data is stored in step  1018 . If the data is successfully stored, then the process continues to step  1020  where a donation confirmation number is issued and the stock transfer is completed by proceeding to step  1300 . However, if the data is not successfully stored, then the process continues to step  1022  where the transaction is rolled back and the data store is attempted again.  
         [0070]    Referring to FIG. 13, the stock transfer is completed in step  1302  by first retrieving and collecting the transaction data from the database  30 . Next, in step  1304 , it is determined whether the latest copy of the transaction data has been retrieved and collected. If it is not the latest copy, then the latest copy is retrieved from the database  30  in step  1306  and the process proceeds to step  1308  where the transaction is recorded. If the transaction data retrieved in step  1302  is the latest copy then the process proceeds directly to step  1308 .  
         [0071]    Once the transaction has been recorded, then the certificates and signatures from the donor are obtained in step  1310 . If a broker connection is required in step  1312 , then the process continues to step  1314  where the system  10  will connect to the broker system. If the broker will update the transfer agent in step  1318 , then a confirmation will be received in step  1320 . However, if the broker will not update the transfer agent, then the system  10  is connected to the transfer agent in step  1316  to complete the transfer. Alternatively, if the broker connection is not required in step  1312 , then the process proceeds directly to step  1316  and connects to the transfer agent. Once the transfer is complete, then the receive confirmation is issued in step  1320 .  
         [0072]    Referring to FIG. 14, once the transfer has been completed, the process proceeds to step  1402  where a donation confirmation and the necessary documents are sent to the donor. The process in step  1404  then updates the donation record in the database  30  and stores the data in step  1406 . If the data is successfully stored, then the process proceeds to step  1410  where the donation is complete. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step  1408  where the process is rolled back and returned to step  1406  to store the data.  
         [0073]    As previously described, the philanthropic system  10  provides a method of facilitating a stock transfer electronically. The system  10  is operative to complete the steps necessary to electronically facilitate the transfer of stock certificates to a charitable organization.  
         [0074]    The philanthropic system  10  is also capable of being integrated/interfaced with other fund-raising tools and web sites. It is a marketing tool for soliciting time, money and goods by creating a personal ask from a friend which brings traffic to a desired web site. Accordingly, by integrating the philanthropic system  10  into a web site, it is possible to increase traffic because the system  10  provides a personal referral. Furthermore, the system  10  is capable of synching with and using other databases in order to generate referrals.  
         [0075]    Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention may also be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art such as providing for non-cash donations. Thus, the particular combination of parts described and illustrated herein is intended to represent only certain embodiments of the present invention, and is not intended to serve as limitation of alternative devices within the spirit and scope of the invention.