Name: CauseCart
 
Big Idea: CauseCart is a Chrome extension and Firefox add-on that works with ecommerce websites to donate a portion of every user’s online purchases to charity.

Why It’s Working: CauseCart seeks to revolutionize the culture of donation by enabling shoppers to give money to a charity of their choosing for free. All donations are handled between CauseCart and the ecommerce platform.

The way that CauseCart works is simple: Users log on to the startup’s website, drag the CauseCart add-on to their Chrome or Firefox browser and select a charity of their choice. Then the user continues to shop online the way that they normally do. CauseCart communicates with popular ecommerce platforms, such as Amazon, to donate a percentage of each purchase to the charity. For example, if a user buys $20 worth of goods on Amazon, the platform will send at least 5% of that money to CauseCart. The user pays nothing extra, and he or she is able to micro-fund a cause like charity: water or Pencils of Promise.

On the social good end, Geer is ultimately curating a list of around 30 partners doing good all over the country. “We’ll always try to keep it a short list, but we have a good relationship with each of these causes, and we want to have a good feedback loop with each of them,” Geer says. CauseCart is preparing for a soft-launch in June with its Chrome extension, with a bigger push and a Firefox option in the near future. Geer says he’s hoping that this model will positively reinforce all users to give in a new and innovative way.