In addition to communicating with personal and business contacts, the internet has made it possible for us to support worthy causes without it costing us a cent. I’m sure most of us have at some time have clicked on The Hunger Site, The Breast Cancer Site, The Child Health Site, The Literacy Site, The Rain Forest Site, or The Animal Rescue Site. When you visit these sites, the advertisers contribute to that particular program. That’s really great, but when you’re busy, you don’t always have time to do that.

I’ve just learned about a new program which lets you raise funds just by surfing the web as you normally do. You simply sign up for Better the World, download the browser sidebar tool, and select the cause you wish to support. The sidebar can be opened and closed as needed, so you don’t need to worry about it taking up too much space on your screen.

The sidebar shows you exactly what the funds are for, the amount needed, and how much has been raised to date. For example, I’m supporting Polar Bear Conservation. The goal is to raise $150.00 to buy boots, hats and gloves for a researcher, and so far they have raised $1.92. Similar to the sites mentioned above, the actual contributions are made by companies advertising in the sidebar.

You can also add Better the World to your browser search bar, and raise money every time you do a Google search.

The site was only launched a month ago and already has 1000 participants. Will you be #1001?