By Lou Dolinar
Updated Feb. 14, 2006

If you’re a regular follower of Internet controversies, you’ve heard of the Target-Salvation Army kerfluffle--the popular retailer barred the ubiquitous Salvation Army bell ringers from its brick-and mortar sites, whereupon the some segments of the blogosphere expressed great umbrage.

We like to stay away from controversies here, and besides, this one’s too Old Economy to suit our tastes. But it is a pretty good excuse to look at how, assuming you no longer have access to a kettle on the sidewalk, you might be able to give money online. A fair number of major charities have taken to the web like a venture capitalist to dot.coms, which is to say, they have some sophisticated but simple systems for online giving via credit card.

Let’s start at the Target web site. Whatever their feeling about the Salvation Army, the company clearly committed to other charities. On the front page of www.target.com, you’ll see a virtual little ad at for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, where you’re offered a $30 gift certificate, $5 of which goes to St. Jude’s and is matched by Target. The company’s given almost $30 million to the charity.

Meanwhile, the Salvation Army is happy to accept donations via credit card at (https://secure3.salvationarmy.org/). I still miss the bell ringers, however.

The Red Cross (www.redcross.org/donate) has a particularly nifty service that lets you break out which of their particular services you want to help (Disaster Relief, military services, your local chapter) and how, including by donating airline miles.

In fact, there are so many outfits soliciting funds online that your first stop on any web-based charitable giving expedition is that old stand-by, the Better Business Bureau. At give.org, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance maintains an extensive database of charities that meet its standard for accountability and disclosure. For example, the organization is expected to spend at least 65 percent of its funds on program activities, and no more than 35 percent on fundraising. Other good sources of online information is The American Institute of Philanthropy at www.charitywatch.org/ and the Guidestar, the national database of nonprofit organization (www.guidestar.org/learn/index.jsp).

Ebay addicts should take a look at http://shopgoodwill.com/. Yup, the online version of the bricks and mortar stores follows the popular auction format, with prices comparable to you local outlet, which is to say, cheap. Yesterday the site was featuring 12 pieces of amber sandwich glass, including a tray, carafe, and goblets for $38. I was particularly taken by the “UCLA Fraternity Spanking Paddle” for $6.

The best single place to give money online is the Network for Good, (www.networkforgood.org) a four year old venture set up by AOL, The Time Warner Foundation, Cisco Systems and Yahoo. One of its main functions is to help the internal operations of charities to raise money on the web, and it has provided some 4000 groups with these fundraising tools. For potential donors, the organization maintains a searchable database of 85,000 charities that you can fund directly from the site.

But hoo, boy, does does the site has some nifty features for givers, sort of a cross between online banking and some of the more stellar emarketing companies like Amazon. You can, for example, browse the database and create a “favorite charities” list that’s saved on the site. Your selections can be local--I note, for example, that a search of Bay Shore turns up about thirty charities I’d never heard of, including the local historical society and a half-dozen sports teams. Type in Iraq, and you’ll get a list of charities helping our troops and the folks who live in that war-tossed land.

There are also ready-made lists of charities called “gift baskets” for focusing your giving in a specific area, for example, for the elderly or for child safety. You can also make these donations in the name of someone, and automatically send them a printed card, an e card, or both, along with a personal message printed on the card. On a somewhat less philanthropic note, the site also keeps track of your credit card numbers and charitable tax deductions.

Network for Good is still a relatively modest effort, having raised about $41 million since its founding. By contrast, the United Way (online donationas at http://national.unitedway.org/give/) raises more than $4 billion a year. Still, by eliminating the middle man, Network for Good looks perfect for Internet age. Nothing wrong with United Way, mind you, but the idea of employers aggregating employee contributions, and then giving them in bulk, with little individual imput for distribution to various charities--is so Old Economy. As donors grow increasingly picky about where their money goes--witness the recent controversy tug of war between gay groups and the Boy Scouts over United Way money--odds are good that organization like Network for Good are going to receive a lot more notice.