eBay Buyers, Sellers Give Record $63 Million To Charity In 2011

eBay's good deals just got a little better.

The auction site enabled its users to give a record $63 million, or $120 a minute to charitable causes last year, according to a statement released Monday.

The company's PayPal division also processed $3 billion in transactions for more than 200,000 nonprofits.

"We are committed to using our global commerce platforms and technologies to drive social innovation and create scalable, measurable impact," said John Donahoe, President and CEO of eBay, Inc., in the release.

Realizing that big-name stars help drive even more charitable purchases, eBay launched its celebrity page in early November, the Associated Press reported -- which recently included a $10,200 sale of Miami Marlins shortstop Jose Reyes' dreadlocks to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida.

"We know that our customers have been coming to eBay specifically to look for and connect with their favorite charities and celebrities," Richelle Parham, chief marketing officer of eBay North America, told the AP. "For many years, the eBay platform has been the choice for celebrities who are looking to raise funds for their charities."

But the impact from the company doesn't just come from its buyers and sellers. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pamela, received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy Award in October for having donated $1 billion to helping to make the world a better place.

"I created [eBay] with the belief that people are good. If you give people the opportunity to do the right thing, you'll rarely be disappointed," Omidyar told The Huffington Post. "After eBay became so financially successful, I really felt a sense of responsibility to put that to good use."

To learn more about eBay's philanthropic reach, check out its Giving Works page, here.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/through-ebay-buyers-selle_n_1274610.html

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