Donating to a good cause is literally as simple as opening a browser tab.
Ad tech company Good-Loop has launched Tabs for Good, a browser extension that allows people to make free donations to a charity of their choice, simply by opening tabs in their web browsers.
People who download the Tabs for Good plug-in can start browsing online to make charitable donations. The simple initiative is funded through advertising; when a user opens a new tab, small banner ads are displayed at the bottom of the page, and half of the ad revenue is donated to charity.
After downloading the browser extension, people can sign up for an online account that tracks their donations and allows them to connect their social media profiles.
Good-Loop enables privacy controls so people can decide what data they want to share with the company, including the option to delete data, said Amy Williams, Good-Loop CEO and founder.
“That's something rarely considered in this whole conversation about data and privacy and our relationship with consumers online,” she said. “Yes, we have to ask for their permission. But, we also have to give them the ability to change their mind and to control on an ongoing basis what data is used and monetized.”
Consumers can select to donate to the charity of their choice and even switch charities to spread the wealth to different causes. Participating charities include WaterAid, St Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Unicef, the American Heart Association, Save The Children, Feeding America and the American Cancer Society.
Good-Loop, which launched in 2016, helps consumers reward charities with free donations by watching ads by donating half of the ad revenue.
According to Good-Loop, if just 1% of internet users in the U.S. and U.K. downloaded Tabs for Good, it would result in $200 million and £300 million per year in donations, respectively.
“Every time you look at something online and give something a little piece of data or information, those actions are so valuable,” said Williams. “We can be empowered to harness that value and use it to fund good causes.”