With one click of the mouse, St. John residents — and people throughout the world — can support the Elaine I. Sprauve Library and its programs.
GoodSearch, powered by Yahoo, allows internet users to choose a charity they want to support, and with each online search, money is donated to that charity.
“We all have a cause we care about — whether it’s finding a cure for cancer, saving the environment, finding homes for abandoned pets or so many other worthwhile endeavors,” according to the Web site www.goodsearch.com. “But what we don’t all have is the time or money to support these efforts as much as we’d like. So, what if we could raise money for our favorite charities and schools by doing something we do every day — searching the internet?”
Advertising Revenue to Charity
GoodSearch works by donating 50 percent of its advertising and other revenues to the charities designated by its users.
“After realizing what a fraction of the $6 billion generated annually by search engine advertisers could do if it were directed toward organizations trying to make the world a better place, Ken Ramberg, former founder of JOBTRAK, now a division of Monster.com and JJ Ramberg, an MSNBC anchor and the former director of marketing at Cooking.com, launched GoodSearch in 2005,” according to the Web site.
GoodSearch is designed so its users and the charities do not have to spend money in order to get money, and because the search is powered by Yahoo, users get search results they are used to.
“Ken and JJ wanted to create a means to support charities so that people would say, ‘Why wouldn’t you do it?’” according to the Web site. “That’s what GoodSearch does. Since it doesn’t cost anything and you get proven search results, there’s no reason not to use it.”
Daughter Shared Search
Sprauve librarian Carol McGuinness stumbled across the charity-supporting search when her daughter mentioned she was using it to support a charity in her area, the librarian explained.
“I came across it because my daughter, who is a big supporter of the Tallahassee Humane Society, sent it to me,” said McGuinness. “I was like, ‘wait a minute, we have to do that here.’It was so easy to sign the library up.”
McGuinness has already made money for the library using GoodSearch.
“Every time somebody searches, you make a few pennies,” said McGuinness. “It’s not a huge amount, but I’ve already made 85 cents.”
McGuinness hopes to set the home pages of the library’s computers to the search to encourage patrons to use GoodSearch.
Money Goes to Programs, Materials
“It’s natural for people who are searching online in the library to use GoodSearch,” said McGuinness. “It’s the same as a Yahoo search, but a bit of the money goes to the Friends of the Library. We put that money back into the library and its programs and materials.”
Friends of the Library President Vernon Lake encouraged everyone to support the library by changing their search engine to GoodSearch.
“It’s a good means for us to try to get some money for our programs,” Lake said.
GoodSearch, which only minimally advertises its service, relies on word of mouth to attract users.
“Because we donate such a substantial part of our revenue to the organizations that you designate, we’re not spending a lot on advertising,” according to the Web site. “That’s why we need your help in spreading the word. We hope you’ll not only use Good Search as your main search engine from now on, but will also tell your friends, family and co-workers so they, too, can start using GoodSearch to support their favorite cause.”
Each Search Generates One Cent
To support the Elaine I. Sprauve Library through GoodSearch, go to www.goodsearch.com and enter “Elaine I. Sprauve Library” in the “Who Do You GoodSearch For?” box.
Wait for “Friends of the Elaine I. Sprauve Library” to appear in the box and search as usual.
Each Web search generates approximately one cent for the user’s chosen charity, according to GoodSearch.