Groupon Grassroots

Every morning I receive at least 3 or 4 daily deal emails, whether from Living Social, Groupon, or some other likeness. Recently I was pleasantly surprised to receive a similar email from Groupon Grassroots. It's a daily deal donation site, offering a wide array of local and international campaigns to donate from.

The basic principal of sites like Groupon Grassroots is collective giving – small donations in large quantities bringing in huge sums for good causes. Although the page was created by a unique team separate from the developers of the deal site, Groupon’s branding can bring a new audience to the idea of daily donations. Currently, Groupon grassroots maintains a different database than subscribers of the Groupon coupon site, but with the reach Groupon achieved in such a small period of time, I can easily see how the Grassroots page could quickly grow.

I was impressed to see that 100% of donations go directly to not just the organization, but the specific program advertised on the website. This is a great motivator for donors who don’t want to support administrative costs or overhead.

Groupon Grassroots, along with similar sites, like Philanthropr, are encouraging signs for the future of collective giving and online solicitation. With social media sharing/posting opportunities via the sites, this is also a positive shift toward social media based philanthropy. Visit them on facebook and twitter for more info.