Website Donates 50% of Profits to Charity While Helping Consumers Save...

Over the past two years, charitable giving in the United States has fallen by the highest percentages seen in over five decades. A shaky stock market and rising unemployment rate have forced consumers to shift money away from charities and back into everyday expenses. A new website, KindCoupons.org, intends to help stop this decrease in charitable giving while at the same time helping consumers save money on their holiday purchases.

Kind Coupons is for people that want to save money on their shopping bills while passively helping to generate charitable contributions at the same time. KindCoupons.org is 100% free to use and features deals such as: Best Buy coupons, 1-800-Flowers promotion codes, Harry & David coupons, Hotels.com promo codes, and hundreds more. KindCoupons has committed to donating 50% of the company’s profits to charity.

The revenue and profit come from the product offers and coupons that are redeemed via KindCoupons.org. Retailers offer various referral fees to KindCoupons as customers engage with the coupons and deals. KindCoupons then takes 50% of its profits and donates them to a specific charity.

"I created KindCoupons because I wanted to figure out a way to give back more to charity and allow others to help increase this impact as well. By building a business that donates 50% of profits to charity, I can ensure that when the business prospers, charities will continue to see higher and higher donations," said Garrett Rent, founder of KindCoupons.org. "Other sites may offer similar coupons, but KindCoupons is unique because consumers can passively help a charity just by doing their regular shopping. We leverage technology to keep our expenses very low and ensure that our donations will be maximized. The site is totally free to use so it's a win-win for consumers. You save, we donate!"

The first charity that will be the recipient of KindCoupons' donations is CaringBridge.org. CaringBridge provides free websites that connect people experiencing significant health challenges to family and friends, making their health journey easier. "I chose this initial charity because I’ve seen firsthand how important a CaringBridge website can be when a family is struggling with a major health crisis. CaringBridge provides a great service and I hope that KindCoupons can help support their growth with our donations," said Rent.

In the future, KindCoupons will allow its users to have a say in which charities receive the company's donations. Facebook fans of KindCoupons will have the opportunity to express their opinions and vote on the most worthy recipients of future donations. "Our site visitors are the key to helping increase our donations, so I think they should have some say in where the money goes. We'll also be doing plenty of research to ensure that we're targeting charities that are not only in need, but also have low expense ratios and solid track records of using funds appropriately," said Rent.

About KindCoupons.org
Launched in November 2010, KindCoupons.org is a free way for consumers to save money on everyday purchases while at the same time helping to generate charitable donations. KindCoupons offers coupons and deals from hundreds of merchants such as: Teleflora, Macys, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Expedia, and more. KindCoupons donates 50% of profits to select charities. KindCoupons.org is 100% free to use and does not require any registration to start saving money and helping to fund donations to charity. For additional information, please visit http://KindCoupons.org.

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Crexendo Brings Website Contest to CSU Fullerton Students

Fullerton, California (PRWEB) November 11, 2010

Most people in this country go straight to the Internet when they need information. That means an effective website is critical to a company's success. In an effort to help college students understand that reality and teach them how to create and implement effective Internet marketing strategies, a Web marketing company called Crexendo is holding a website and online marketing competition. Crexendo Business Solutions, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, will give free digital marketing tools to Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) students who want to compete; the tools include access to Crexendo web hosting, content management system (CMS) software, and a proprietary e-commerce platform.

“We’re giving each student everything needed to build and promote an e-commerce website,” said Crexendo President Clint Sanderson. “We want to give college students real-world entrepreneurial Web design experience, Web marketing education, and experience in the post-collegiate business world.”

Students will plan and build a website promoting a real-life product or service, and then use the website and SEO training—including link-building techniques—they’ll get from Crexendo to draw visitors to their site. The training is part of the contest and free of charge.

John Bradley Jackson is the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at CSUF. He said, “The best case scenario is that a student will win some of the prize money and walk away with a fully-functioning website. But even students who don’t win will get valuable experience to draw on in the future and a terrific gem to add to their resumes. And they will still have a fully-functioning website.”

Prize money pay-outs will be $7,500 for first place; $5,000 for second place; $2,500 for third place; and six runners up at $500 each. Judges from Crexendo and CSUF will evaluate websites on Appearance (15%), Mechanics (35%), Marketing (25%), Overall Idea (25%), plus a bonus category called Traction, wherein contestants can earn up to 10% extra points for actual leads or sales their websites generate.

Crexendo held its first university competition at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah this past spring. CSUF has already seen hundreds of students sign up for the free web tools and contest. The website competitions are part of the new Crexendo University Program (Crexendo U.P.) and are open to all students at participating colleges and universities.

Crexendo instructor and VP of Web Marketing Parker Garlitz said, “This contest allows students with an entrepreneurial bent to create a website without the large amounts of capital that other types of businesses require. It’s a simple step that almost anyone can take but few do. With this contest, we hope to introduce college students to the exciting world of Web marketing very early in their careers. Web marketing skills are something students can use no matter what career they pursue.”

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Crexendo Brings Website Contest to University of Utah Students

Salt Lake City, Utah (PRWEB) November 11, 2010

These days most people go straight to the Internet when they need information. That means an effective website is critical to a company's success. In an effort to help college students understand that reality and teach them how to create and implement effective Internet marketing strategies, a Web marketing company called Crexendo is holding a website and online marketing competition. Crexendo Business Solutions, headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, will give free digital marketing tools to University of Utah students who want to compete; the tools include access to Crexendo web hosting, content management system (CMS) software, and a proprietary e-commerce platform.

“It’s really everything a student will need to build an e-commerce website and start marketing it,” said Crexendo President Clint Sanderson. “It’s a way for college students to get real-world entrepreneurial Web design experience, Web marketing education, and experience in the post-collegiate world.”

Students will plan and build a website promoting a real-life product or service, and then use the website and SEO training—including link-building techniques—they’ll get from Crexendo to draw visitors to their site. The training is part of the contest and free of charge.

Olivia Sheng is the Director of the Global Knowledge Management Center at the University of Utah. She said, “Winning contestants will get some of the prize money and a fully-functioning website. Students who don’t win will still get valuable experience to draw on in the future and a wonderful addition for their resumes. And they’ll have a functioning website to build on if they choose.”

Prize money pay-outs will be $7,500 for first place; $5,000 for second place; $2,500 for third place; and six runners up at $500 each. Judges from Crexendo and the University of Utah will evaluate websites on Appearance (15%), Mechanics (35%), Marketing (25%), Overall Idea (25%), plus a bonus category called Traction, wherein contestants can earn up to 10% extra points for actual leads or sales their websites generate.

Crexendo held its first university competition at Brigham Young University (BYU) this past spring. The U. has already seen hundreds of students sign up for the free web tools and contest. The website competitions are part of the new Crexendo University Program (Crexendo U.P.) and are open to all students at participating colleges and universities.

Crexendo instructor and VP of Web Marketing Parker Garlitz said, “This contest allows students with an entrepreneurial bent to create a website without the large amounts of capital that other types of businesses require. It’s a simple step that almost anyone can take but few do. With this contest, we hope to introduce college students to the exciting world of Web marketing very early in their careers. Web marketing skills are something students can use no matter what career they pursue.”

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Changing Website Design Technologies Challenge Designers to Build...

Sebastopol, CA (PRWEB) November 12, 2010

The fast-changing web has left designers struggling to keep up with technology and to meet evolving customer requirements.

Helping to fill this gap, Webvanta has published a free, 45-page ebook that provides up-to-the-minute, seasoned advice on key steps designers can take today to:
Create sites that are more effectiveRealize their creative visionNot get bogged down in technology detailsMake more money

This ebook is the distillation of what author Michael Slater and the Webvanta team have learned from working with dozens of designers on hundreds of sites in the past three years.

Designers can request a free copy of the ebook at:

http://www.webvanta.com/5tips-ebook

The five topics covered in the ebook are:

1. Deciding where to draw the line between design and implementation

To focus on design and content, designers need a clear plan for where to draw the line between design and implementation, and how they are going to get sites built.

2. Thinking in terms of information architecture

A key step toward creating better sites is to think of their heart as being collections of content, independent of any presentation. Then design pages to display that content.

3. Picking the right CMS

To choose the best CMS for a given project, designers need to understand the pros and cons of a hosted CMS vs. self-hosted software, as well as the differing customer focus for various systems.

4. Understanding What jQuery Can Do

The jQuery library makes common JavaScript web page interactions simple. To be effective, designers need to understand what's easily implemented with jQuery, even if they don't code it themselves.

5. Driving traffic with SEO and social media

Most web site owners want their sites to be found, so designers need to integrate the site with social media and understand how to optimize for SEO.

About the Author: Michael Slater

Michael Slater is the cofounder and CEO of Webvanta Inc., which provides a hosted CMS and site-building services for web designers. He has been working with the web since its inception, with a particular focus on content-rich sites that leverage databases of content.

Michael is the author of half a dozen books, ranging from Microprocessor-Based Design to Organize Your Photos with Photoshop Elements.

About Webvanta

Webvanta provides a hosted content management system (CMS) that enables designers to create more effective sites with less effort. Founded in 2007 by two Adobe veterans, Webvanta offers site-building services as well as a SaaS CMS, giving designers the option of using Webvanta as a complete solution for turning their Photoshop files into working sites.

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