The Blog of 1dollarclub

At the 1DollarClub, we pride ourselves in our mission to change the world one dollar at a time. This being said, it is a top priority to make sure that as much of your donation as possible goes to making a difference. Unlike some big legacy charities that have extremely high overhead costs and administration fees, the 1DollarClub makes it a point to keep these costs at or below 10%. Currently, this 10% administration expense is entirely a payment processing fee from Paypal. Because our transaction amounts are so small - $1.00 - there is a 5% processing fee, and a $0.05 transaction fee, this ends up being a significant part of the donations.  Unfortunately, as a new 501c3 organization we have done everything within our power to get PayPal to waive their fees, but until this point we have been unsuccessful.

As we continue to grow and earn more credibility as an organization we are planning on implementing some very innovative administrative practices. Our whole concept of the 1DollarClub.org is very simple, that people can ONLY donate 1 Dollar. So no matter whom you are whether you are Warren Buffet or the average everyday person, your 1 dollar has the same impact, thus putting all people on the same level. In the future, we will be accepting larger donations from individuals and organizations but those dollars will be put specifically towards our administrative expenses making our global fund solely from donors who have donated one dollar, and eventually our administrative expenses will become a negative percent.  

Unfortunately, we do not have massive funds to spend on administration, fundraising, and overhead costs like large legacy charities such as the Red Cross, ARC, or Habitat for Humanity.  However we are offering a new way, an innovative way, a 2008 way for you to be part of making a difference in the world, with something as simple as just 1 dollar. 

As most of you know one dollar in itself does not do much or mean much these days therefore you might be curious as to why the 1DollarClub only asks for $1. The 1DollarClub is not just about giving a dollar to charity; it is about creating a movement that encourages every single person to give a dollar to change the world.

The way www.1dollarclub.org has been set up supports the way in which this movement can happen. There are three easy steps involved with becoming part of the 1DollarClub. You start by donating your dollar, and then you invite your network of friends, family, coworkers, and acquaintances or anyone you feel should know about the 1DollarClub. Finally, you get the unique chance to watch your 1 Factor grow through the power of your social network.  

The 1 Factor has been set up to show how much money you as an individual are responsible for raising. This doesn’t just mean that you get to watch the real time widget on our websites homepage; this means that you can download your own widget that will keep track of how much money YOU are responsible for raising. Once this widget is downloaded you have the ability to put it on your Facebook or Myspace account as well as your own website!

So, how does this work? The 1 Factor tracks all of your friends that have donated because of the 1DollarClub invitation they received from you. It also is able to keep track of the money donated from the friends of your friends and friends of their friends and etc… (You are responsible for this money as well!) All in all, the 1 Factor allows you to see how much money you are actually responsible for raising through the utilization of your social network.  

The underlying goal of the 1 Factor is to add another layer to social networking. Millions of people belong to enormous social networks all over the world and it doesn’t really mean anything except that they are well connected. However, we want to take everyone’s enormous social network and put it to good use by showing how much good can come from utilizing the power of your social network.

The 1 Factor is set to be released in the coming week. For people that have already donated please watch for an email from the 1DollarClub team that will provide you a link to download the widget. For all you potential donators out there, check out the website in the next few days to download the next big thing to hit the internet!

Some really exciting things are starting to happen with http://1dollarclub.org! One of which is that we are nearing our first benchmark of $100. This may not seem very significant however when you take a look behind the scenes, some very extraordinary things are taking place. Being that 1DollarClub users can only view what is going on at the surface; we thought we should take the time to let you know how well 1DollarClub is really doing.

With the 1DollarClub being a nonprofit organization the first dollar donation that was given was a great accomplishment. Yet, this was only the first step to becoming a true success. The dollar amount we currently have not only represents the number of people that have donated but also the number of people that have received an E-mail informing them of the 1DollarClub. What people do not realize is that there are over 4,000 people that have been informed of the 1DollarClub through E-mails. The 1DollarClub movement requires a slow grass-roots building effort, and this takes time just as all great things do. The important thing to know is that the 1DollarClub is working and this is extremely exciting to all of us on the 1DollarClub Team!

Today is the first official day that we are starting to push www.1dollarclub.org. With the site functioning optimally and with most of the kinks worked out, we feel very confident that we can truly start spreading the word about the 1DollarClub movement. 

As of this morning, the 1DollarClub team is sending emails to all of their email contacts to get the ball rolling.  Our hope is that the number of people participating in the 1DollarClub movement will start growing exponentially day by day. However, in order for the 1DollarClub movement to be a true success we need you to be endorsers. Once you make your donation, make sure you send the 1DollarClub invitation to your email contacts.

Things to look forward to:

We are also in the process of creating a Facebook and I-Phone application that will allow you to see how many dollars YOU are responsible for raising. Stay tuned…

Everyday we are closer to having www.1dollarclub.org running flawlessly. We thank you for your patience and would still appreciate it if you let us know if you come across any problems while using the site.

Today we thought it would be fun to give you an idea of how much your dollar donation can truly help someone in need.

In these countries 1 dollar can buy:

Kenya

 8 Cups of Milk

Tanzania (Nzanza)

1/3 of a Liter of Pesticide

Ghana

 2 1/3 Bottles of Palm Oil

1 1/2 Pairs Rubber Sandals

87 Tablets of Penicillin

4 1/3 Rolls of Toilet Paper

India (Andhra Pradesh) 2-3 Pieces Bamboo for Building

1/2 Unit of Blood for a Transfusion

Bangladesh (Chittagong)

1 Dozen Eggs

7 Bars of Soap

A family of four interviewed in rural Bangladesh calculated that they spent roughly 80 cents a day on food and fuel, allowing them to buy and cook two meals of rice and beans, as well as an occasional piece of meat. Medical costs came to 3.3 cents a day ($12 per year), mainly on medicines for the husband's coughs and colds. Other family expenses included 4.1 cents per day on clothes ($15 per year), 1.6 cents on school books ($6 per year), and 2.2 cents ($8 per year) visiting and giving presents to relatives. Family health and food costs thus accounted for more than 90 percent of the household's basic expenses (Rutherford 2002:10).

Information from: http://archive.wri.org/item_detail.cfm?id=3642&section=pubs&page=pubs_content_text&z=?

Get ready for it.......today www.1dollarclub.org will officially launch. Please check out the site and be one of the first people to contribute your dollar to this movement.

One world. One dollar. One enormous change.