I’ve written before about apps that help you choose a charity to work with, but One Today is particularly neat because it makes giving with your smartphone more interactive. The app will notify you each day of a different nonprofit to check out based on your interests; the more you give, the better the app gets at picking one that interests you. You can offer to donate between $1-$10, or set up a match donation to rally your friends on social media collectively contribute even more money. The more people you bring on board, the more rallying power you have in your giving profile. One Today even offers silly achievement badges to inspire you to donate as often as you can. Each nonprofit’s description page usually explains how much money it needs to make its goal, so you’ll always have a bit of criteria to help you decide how much to put forward. l of the projects featured in the app are also vetted by the for Nonprofits program. en you’re ready to close out your tab (so to speak) you can pay off your balance with llet. ly, I appreciate the flexibility of being able to pay a lump sum every few weeks rather than every time I donate. Donations are tax deductible, too, when you hit the $250 minimum will email you a tax deduction certificate.
y it forward
The best part of One Today is the y it Forward feature, which aims to help you get more friends on board the giving train. You can help nudge a friend by donating money that she can use toward a nonprofit of her choice. I’m typically wary of apps that aim to make it “effortless” to help others. However, I’ve received plenty of positive feedback on One Today from my friends, many of whom I’ve managed to rally on Facebook Twitter to match my donations. At the end of the day, I’m giving money to a worthy cause that promises to use the money for good. Isn’t that better than doing nothing at all?
