There are a lot of great ways to sponsor wishes at Gifter and many worthwhile charities online. One of the ways to give to individual causes is through GiveMeaning.I recently asked Tom Williams, the organization’s founder to participate in an interview. Please check out GiveMeaning and if you donate to one of the many worthwhile projects, consider sponsoring some wishes with your donation receipt at Gifter.org.

What can you tell us about GiveMeaning?

GiveMeaning is the place where people come to make wishes come true. People use GiveMeaning to fundraise and donate to specific charitable projects (i.e. a tangible, specific objective.) Anyone can start their own project or they can donate to any of the hundreds that other people have started. So anyone with a desire to see their world changed (whether in their backyard or half-way around the world) can use our site to make it happen.

There are a lot of ways to donate to causes and charities online, how is GiveMeaning different?

First, we charge absolutely nothing for our service. 100% of every donation (even the credit card costs) are remitted to charity (socially responsible companies pay to sponsor the projects on our site).

Second, our privacy policy is as simple as we don’t and we won’t. Too often, people experience the frustration of being bombarded with more solicitations soon after making a donation online or offline to charity. No where else can you donate with total confidence that your information won’t be shared and you won’t be solicited.

Third, you can actually see where and how your money is making a difference. The only requirement we have of the charities that receive money to work on the projects on our site is that they post blog updates, photos, video and so forth. A good example of this is http://ugandayouth.givemeaning.com.

How is GiveMeaning doing so far?

Wonderfully! We have spent next to nothing in marketing, growing totally by word of mouth. I think unfortunately, donating to charity has become such a hassle that when people come across a customer experience like ours, they want to rave about it.

Can you give some examples of the types of projects that have been supported through GiveMeaning?

They really run the gamut from development projects in Africa to animal shelters in Saskatchewan to a woman’s breast cancer treatment in Seattle. Take a look at http://babz.givemeaning.com Our community raised $60,000 for this woman’s medical treatment in 2 weeks!!!

What are some of the opportunities that potential sponsors of Gifter.org wishes can donate towards through GiveMeaning?

It’s only limited to the sponsor’s imagination.

Any thoughts on the role of small individual donors in the world of philanthropy and charity? Where can they get involved in the best ways?

Yes, harness the “power of plenty” by pooling your individual donation with 100 other people’s small donations. That’s what GiveMeaning is all about. If for some reason, you don’t want to donate through a service like GiveMeaning, then my advice would be find an organization that you haven’t ever heard of that’s supporting the cause most important to you. There are 80,000 charities in this country and most of them are operating with very little resources. Don’t do the easy thing and give to the big, national branded charities that spend millions of dollars on marketing. Do your research, and connect with one of the thousands of “little guys.”

On a personal note, how has your experience in the non-profit world been treating you? How does it compare with your background as a technology entrepreneur?

It’s very humbling to make the switch into the non-profit sector because it requires a wholly different attitude and approach to basically every aspect of running an organization. There is a LOT of skepticism about any new charitable organization and it takes a lot more to build trust, credibility and loyalty than in any other sector I have ever worked in.

At the same time, the rewards are beyond anything I had ever previously experienced.. Despite years of building, investing and advising tech companies from start-up to Fortune 500, nothing was more satisfying than the first $50 donation that came through the site.

I also think that there is much greater value in bootstrapping a charitable “venture” than in raising a ton of $$ early on. This isn’t a market that can be “bought” only earned and with a war-chest, I think I would have fallen to the belief that I could buy my progress.