Swipegood

There once was a bank that allowed you to round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and the difference would be saved into your saving account. A clever easy way to save, but what if you could use that concept and instead of adding a few cents to your own pocket, you could help someone in need?

Swipegood does exactly that, allowing you to choose what charity you want your money to go to, from getting internet access to people who need it, to providing clean water, or helping cancer victims. The list includes Donors Choose, so you have options to help fund projects and teachers also.

Right now you can only round up a few credit cards (American Express is one of the major ones), but they are adding new ones (Chase, Bank of America), and you can set a round up limit or put your round ups on hold at any time. You don't even have to have the rounded up donation charged the the same card you sign up to round up, and they tally the totals at the end of every month (most people average $20). Swipegood takes only 5% to cover their operating costs, so they are truly in business to make charitable giving easy.

Since you are shopping for gifts now anyway, why not give a few cents to those who need it the most? You won't notice the additional cents spent, but it could help make a change in someone's life, and that makes sense.