Philanthroper is a great idea for donations, one even a cheap person like me can appreciate. The base concept is this: You donate $US1, they make sure 99 per cent of that gets to the charity, not into their pockets.
Disclosure: Philanthroper is run by Mark Wilson, who is also a Gizmodo Contributor.
Every day Philanthroper chooses a new non-profit for a donation target. You can donate $US1 – and only $US1 – to the non-profit, through Philanthroper. Their payment transfer partner takes only 1 cent for fees, leaving the other 99 cents to go to the endpoint. None of it ends up with Philanthroper.
Today’s charity is Computer Aid International. They take used computers from businesses and refurbish them into working condition, and distribute them to places around the world. Your Philanthroper donation will go to 250 computers being given to schools in Kenya.
Also a cool upcoming feature in a couple weeks! This stats page reminiscent of Nike+, which shows you what you’ve donated to in the past and the distribution of your donations to various areas. This dude really likes animals, but hates the environment. Animals need the environment, man!
There was a study that said giving actually makes you feel as good if not better about yourself than receiving, meaning this is a cheap way to make yourself feel good. [Philanthroper]