Met at Camp? How about a Charitable Gift Registry at your Wedding?

Jewish camps and schools have introduced many couples who eventually go on to marry and live happily ever after. Some camps already use this reality to market themselves - what better place to find a good spouse than in a safe, controlled summer camp environment?

Why not take the next step and share information about how these happy married alumni can give back for such a service? There are many options online that allow happy couples to include philanthropy as part of their wedding. The couple can ask for donations to a charity of their choice in lieu of gifts altogether. Or register through a site that will donate a portion of all traditional gift registry purchases to a charity. Or donate to a charity instead of preparing a traditional favor for each wedding guest.

Some sites are even more flexible and allow people to share a favorite charity list for any event - anniversary, bar/bat mitzvah, birthday, etc.

Here is a short list of websites (in no particular order) that offer this type of service:

1. I Do Foundation---This service allows couples to sign up for a charity registry only, a standard gift registry that gives a certain percentage of each gift purchased to charity (for example, Target - 5% of purchase price is donated; Amazon.com: 4%, Linens 'N Things: 3%, etc.), or a combination of both. Couples can limit the number of charity donations they will "accept." The I Do Foundation also sells favors (notecards) for each place setting that specifies that the couple has donated to a charity in lieu of a more traditional favor. There is a great post here about the I Do Foundation on the Philanthropic Family Blog. Check it out!
   Considerations: This service is for weddings only. The couple (or organization) must apply to have the organization listed as an eligible charity. Processing fees are 4.75% per transaction.


2. JustGive.org---This is just one small service offering from Justgive.org, a much larger online philanthropy website. They offer a charity registry as well as charity gift certificates (note that the purchaser of the gift certificate gets the tax deduction, not the recipient). Justgive.org will also send the couple a free electronic file they can print out when they make a donation in lieu of wedding favors. Charities listed in Guidestar are all eligible automatically at Justgive.org. You could conceivably use this for events other than weddings.
   Considerations: The processing fee is very expensive, especially for small gifts: $5 flat fee PLUS 3% per transation.


3. Network For Good---This service allows users to create a "Favorite Charities List" directly from Guidestar and share it with friends and family, who can then make donations in the user's name. This is the most flexible - it's just a list with links that can be sent for any occasion.
   Considerations: Doesn't include any functionality for tracking who gave, limiting number of charitable gifts, etc. No other features (gift registry, charity gift certificates, etc.). Processing fees are 4.75% per transaction.

Maybe your organization could gently mention one or more of these services on the Alumni page of your website. Once you have an example of someone actually doing something like this for your organization, share their story: How did they meet? What are their favorite camp memories? How did they give back on their wedding day? This is a powerful way to keep people connected to your organization.

Please share any experiences you have had in the past with these services in the comments. If you know of any other services like this, I'd like to hear about them.