It's Not Always About Money

Watching adoption of Amazon Web Services is always fun; however once in a while a use comes along that wouldn't have occurred to me. Not too long ago someone posted a meeting request in our wiki, requesting a meeting in Boulder, CO. These meetings are almost always worthwhile, and because they are community driven they build our travel schedule for us. But I digress...

The meeting was with Richard Waldvogel, who founded Giveness.com. Richard's passion is non-profit fundraising with a twist: essentially his company allows online buyers to donate a portion of their purchase price to a cause. Thanks to sites such as Amazon.com who sport an Associates Program and a Web Service API, there is an almost-untapped market for fundraising applications.

As Richard ays, "The purpose of this is not for me to make a fortune.This is something I'm doing that's good for my life. It's about the cause, not the money." Refreshing to see folks who think this way!

You can read about how Richard got started at www.bcbr.com/article.asp?id=87623. He's developed a really slick set of widgets that make it easy for organizations to get started: you can learn more at www.giveness.com.

-- Mike