Miro, the free and open-source video platform, recently launched a new fundraising tool – IHeartMiro.org.

IHeartMiro.org is essentially a splash page to encourage Miro fans to download the IHeartMiro FireFox extension. The IHeartMiro extension takes advantage of Amazon's affiliate program and makes it so every time you shop at Amazon.com, a small portion of your purchase is donated to the Participatory Culture Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization that makes Miro. The extension works by cleverly adding Miro's specific Amazon affiliate code to the URL whenever you visit Amazon.com. This way, every time you buy something, the Amazon referral fee (approx. 4% of the purchase price) is automatically donated to Miro! Using the IHeartMiro extension doesn't cost you anything and may just be “the easiest way ever to help Miro”.

If enough people were to add this extention, Miro could raise some serious cash.

John Stahl wonders if this approach “could be adapted for any nonprofit.” The answer, as far as I can tell, is yes. There's nothing stopping any given group from launching their own version of iheartmiro.com. The iheartmiro add-on's functionality is relatively simple and Miro has even made their add-on's code open-source with a GPL version 3 license. What this means is that your nonprofit could set up an affiliate program with Amazon.com and re-wire Miro's code code so that all referral fees are donated to your cause. You could then launch your own branded extension, making it super easy for your supporters to help fund your nonprofit!

In addition to Amazon.com: BarnesandNoble, Ebay, iTunes, Buy.com, Cafepress, Orbitz, and hundreds of other major online retailers also have strong affiliate programs. In theory, your nonprofit could make affiliate deals with many of these retailers as well. You could then update your add-on to insert the relevant affiliate codes when users visited these popular shopping sites. Imagine if you asked your entire member base to add this affiliate loaded extension. If only a few thousand did, the fund raising potential would be HUGE!

I envision both large and grassroots nonprofits using this new fund raising approach in the near future as it could really help these groups raise much-needed funds.

It's important to realize, though, that problems would arise as more and more nonprofits potentially launched their own fundraising add-ons. What happens when supporters are asked to install more than one nonprofit's add-on? More specifically, if a supporter installed two different nonprofits' add-ons, which nonprofit's affiliate code would be inserted into the URL? The answer is that one nonprofit's affiliate code would either have consistent priority over another or something would go awry and they would cancel each other out. This would result in one nonprofit being favored undemocratically or make it so neither group is able to raise vital funds.

It's clear that a solution is needed to ensure that people are able to support multiple nonprofits when they shop online.

One idea would be to build a single FireFox add-on that had the ability to support as many nonprofits as you wanted. Imagine an add-on that was powered by GuideStar and let you choose which nonprofit(s) you wanted to support. If you were to choose Greenpeace, for example, all of your affiliate purchases would be donated to GreenPeace. But if you wanted to support GreenPeace and Amnesty International and the Rainforest Action Network – then the add-on would alternate these nonprofits' affiliate codes as you visited different online stores. Shop at Amazon today and you support GreenPeace. Then the next time you shop, you're supporting Amnesty. And the next – it's the Rainforest Action Network.

Once you have selected your favorite nonprofits (see below), the entire process of inserting the alternating affiliate codes would be completely automated. Chances are high, you wouldn't even notice it.

Basic Mock Up

This meta-fundraising add-on would make it brilliantly easy for people to support their favorite nonprofits. It would also take the weight off of nonprofits from having to manage their own extensions and affiliate partnerships.

I am very excited about this idea and will be submitting it to Social Innovation Camp and hope to develop a proof-of-concept through it's program. I will also be sharing it with leaders in the micro-philanthropy sector so as to spur innovation and make this add-on a reality. Wish me luck!

Also, Thank you Dave for your help researching this post!