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=Better The World =

=The Site.=

[| http://www.bettertheworld.com/home] []

=The Company.=

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 * What is Better the World?**

Better The World is the world's first fund-raising website that allows people to raise money for charity just by simply surfing the Internet. Better The World targets Internet users who may have no money to donate and also charity supporters who desire to make further impact on various causes. It main goal is to make positive change in this world. The company was founded in Toronto, Canada in May 2008; its site was founded in February 12th, 2009. The founders Steve Croth and Mark Bachman realized that fund-raising for charities was still very dated and charities were not taking advantage of the opportunities online to raise money. Therefore, they came up with the website bettertheworld.com, which would not only allow people to surf the web, but help to raise money for charities and to make difference in the world.

Better the World is a for-profit social venture that is privately owned with operations in Canada, the USA, and Europe. Up till now, usually charity was not-for-profit, however with Better the World that is not the case, as the for-profit company helps numerous charities work better by utilizing the Internet. Better the World is a B Corporation, which is a new type of corporation that uses the powers of business to solve social and environmental problems. B corporation such as Better the World build a tightly bound relationship amongst the members, business partners, charities, and investors, to provide solutions to the social and environmental issues present in our world. With other 160 exclusive leading companies, Better the World is a certified B Corporation thus demonstrating its 'pure and true' motives concerning their organization.


 * How does the company benefit?**

With all this in mind, we still need to be aware that Better the World is a for-profit social venture. However, the company gives 90% of its net revenue to charity organizations and the remaining 10% is just the bare minimum used to regulate the website and to hire more people in the company to develop further ways of supporting charities. In addition, Better The World does not ask ay money from their charity partners which includes Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, Children's Miracle Network, Habitat for Humanity Toronto, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, TakingITGlobal, United Way of Canada, 5 days for the homeless, Trickle Up, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, CARE (relief), War Child (charity), KINSA and the World Wildlife Fund Canada. All of the money raised by users go directly to those organizations. In order to ensure to that the company is actually giving 90%, they have hired a world class auditing firm to sign off on the company's financial reports, giving them the responsibility to ensure that Better the World is complying with their 90/10 policy. Subsequently, these reports are provided to their charity partners.


 * So how does this work?**

Here is how Better The World works: People sign up for accounts at bettertheworld.com. They choose a charity to support from a list of participating charities. Each charity Better The World partners with sets specific goals and then the company reports on the progress they’re making to achieve them. Charities will also update a newsfeed to keep the users up to date on the impact they're helping to make. Then the users choose from a set of tools – one of which is a fund-raising sidebar that integrates directly into their browser and displays ads that are aligned with the cause they've chosen. Better the World's advertising partners pay funds according to the number of times people see their ads. So the more a user surfs, the more money he or she raises. These funds are paid to Better The World and 90% of the money generated goes directly to support the user's cause.

There are four different kinds of ads that appear on the site. The first one is the corporate social responsibility program promotion which are ads from corporations who have social responsibility programs that they wish to promote (e.g. Coke’s Every Drop Matters) in addition to the positive impact those programs have had. The second one is the social products and service ads from corporations who have social products and services (e.g. Toyota Prius Hybrid Automobile or GE Energy Smart Compact Florescent Light Bulbs) that they wish to promote. The third kind of advertisements have to do with products and services that have to do with the overall members' interests (e.g. National Geographic). Lastly, there are the "Not For Profit" ads which show organizations that are aligned with the values of community and are providing programs or services to support those values (e.g. Thousand Villages Retail Store).

In addition, users can also shop for a charity by installing a shopping application. Every time they buy online from a list of more than 40 participating retailers – such as Amazon, eBay and iTunes – a percentage of their purchase is donated to their charity. Furthermore, Better the World is also integrated into Facebook and Twitter, making it easy for members to share stories and news from the charity application with friends.

=The Impact.=

One of the people who were deeply impacted by Better The World is a 17 year old of the name Kelsey Lett who although appears to be normal has cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease affecting the exocrine (mucus) glands of the lungs, liver, pancreas, and intestines, causing progressive disability. Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common life-shortening, childhood-onset inherited diseases. However, through Better The World, users have helped to support her medication and stay at the Children's Hospital of Ohio by raising money online. She is now at the hospital and smiling knowing that people are supporting her.

=How to Take Action.=

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= Questions = = = 1. How does the company run with just the bare minimum in terms of profit? 2. The company has made it so that the users can only support one cause at a time. What is the reason behind this restriction? Does it benefit the company in any way to do this? 3. Other than with advertisements, how does Better The World obtain its revenue? What could be some other possible ways to make profit? 4. Better The World website was founded in 2009, meaning that it a fairly new concept. However, there are no major means of advertisement done to promote the website. Why does the company not choose to advertise more about their website? Wouldn't it raise their total revenue and promote more awareness? 5. How does a company like Better The World play a role in the economic world and promote competition?

=Sources:=

http://www.bettertheworld.com/help http://www.bettertheworld.com/blog/Better-The-World-Becomes-Canada*i*s-First-B*h*Corporation/ http://www.bettertheworld.com/about/90-10 http://www.bcorporation.net/ http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/280723 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/your-business/business-categories/sustainability/a-new-way-to-support-charity/article1540484/