This website has links to various online stores like Amazon, iTunes, Walmart, and many more. The site is set up to donate referrer money to various charities. At first, this idea might seem great. After all, who wouldn’t want to help donate to a charity while doing their holiday shopping, especially when it’s so easy?

The problem with Good2Give is that it encourages lazy charity while promoting commercialism. By buying into the idea that you are helping others out through this process, you make yourself believe that what you did was sufficiently charitable. It encourages being charitable, but in the least way possible. The money being donated isn’t even your own!

While you may be donating a small amount of money to charities, the products you are buying are more than likely manufactured or produced by people in need who are working in terrible work environments. These people could be the same people that your “donated” money is helping. Charity is not about clicking links before buying your regular holiday gifts.

I am not saying that charity is wrong. I am simply stating that the sort of charity set up by Good2Give isn’t the sort of charity you should be doing. If you want to be charitable, donate to a charity that works directly with people in need.

Some links on charity to consider:

• Slavoj Zizek – First as Tragedy, Then as Farce
• Charity is Selfish
• Charity and Commercialism