Microsoft expands Search and Give charitable search engine program

Microsoft is expanding its Search and Give program which lets you pick a charity to receive some cash every time you use the company's search engine. The program has been around for over a year and has raised more than $250,000 for 20,000 local schools and non-profit organizations.

The new version ups the ante by letting you choose from over a million different organizations you'd like to support. That includes more than 100,000 schools and 900,000 non-profit organizations. Microsoft has also increased the amount of money donated. Every time you click the search button, a penny will be donated, although Microsoft will only match up to 500 searches per user per month. That means you could raise up to $60 a year for the charity of your choice just by searching the web.

You can also use new tools to track your donations, total donations, and the number of people contributing to the same charity as you. While we kind of laughed when Microsoft tried to bribe people to use their product search engine by promising cashback on some purchases, the search and merit program is meant to appeal to your charitable side rather than your frugal side. If you're already a Live Search user, you should totally check out Search and Give. And if you prefer another search engine, it might at least be worth checking this one out.

Source : http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/06/04/microsoft-expands-search-and-give-charitable-search-engine-progr/