Tripadvisor Co-Founder Launches New Venture: Give Freely, a Shopping Assistant That Finds Coupons and Donates Sales Commissions to Charities as Consumers Shop

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Oct 26, 2023, 14:47 ET

Shop, Save, Support: Join the Give Freely Movement

BOSTON, Oct. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Kaufer, the visionary co-founder and longtime leader of Tripadvisor, is excited to announce the launch of Give Freely, a mission-driven company incorporated with the sole purpose of harnessing the collective power of online commerce for charitable good. The company's revolutionary first product is an online shopping assistant that helps people find discounts and donate to the charities of their choice while they shop online. The donations are generated from retailer-paid affiliate marketing sales commissions that other coupon companies pocket as a profit, but Give Freely will divert those funds to charities in desperate need of funding. 100% of every affiliate dollar that comes to Give Freely goes to the user's favorite charity.

To join, visit: www.givefreely.com.

Give Freely's flagship product is an innovative shopping browser extension, designed to discover and verify the best coupons at more than 10,000 online stores and then automatically apply those coupons in-cart to save shoppers money. Consumers can choose which charity they want donations directed to from a pool of over 1.1 million non-profits.

"I started Give Freely as a way for everyday actions to help heal the world," says Kaufer, the Founder and CEO of Give Freely. "I've always been a believer in the power of large communities taking small, individual actions, and having large collective impacts. With Tripadvisor, that vision led to hundreds of millions of review contributors helping billions of travelers have a better vacation. With Give Freely, every purchase becomes a small act of generosity that, when aggregated, holds immense potential for positive global change. If 50 million users joined the movement, they could generate over a billion dollars in new donations to charities every year."

Give Freely is thrilled to announce eight special charity launch partners: The Multiple Sclerosis Society, charity:water, UNICEF USA, Susan G. Komen^®, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Autism Speaks, Choose Love and March of Dimes. These charities welcome Give Freely's efforts to harness the power of millions of shoppers to drive record-breaking giving and build generosity into the fabric of our everyday lives.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society: "The National MS Society is excited to join Give Freely on its mission to turn everyday commerce into a collective act of generosity. We encourage our donors to also download the Give Freely extension to amplify their impact as we help to end MS together." - Jennifer Lee, EVP, Development, National Multiple Sclerosis Society

charity:water: "703 million people on Earth still lack access to clean water - that's 1 in 11 of us. But charity: water is on a mission to change that. We're proud to be one of Give Freely's launch partners and empower supporters to help us end the water crisis one online purchase at a time." - Anthony Marinos, Director of Business Development and Partnerships, charity: water

UNICEF USA: "Donations to UNICEF USA help deliver the essentials every child needs for an equitable chance in life. UNICEF USA is honored to unite with Give Freely and work together towards a world that upholds the rights of all children and helps every child thrive." - Katie McDonell, Senior Vice President, Individual Giving, UNICEF USA

Susan G. Komen: "Every contribution advances Susan G. Komen's mission of living in a world without breast cancer, and Give Freely's innovative approach empowers individuals to make a difference with every purchase. This partnership will save lives by meeting the most critical needs in our communities and invest in breakthrough research to prevent and cure breast cancer." - Sarah Rosales, Senior Vice President, Susan G. Komen

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF): "We are energized by the innovation and creativity of Give Freely as supporters in our mission to find a cure for Parkinson's. The ability to connect with new and old friends across the internet will benefit the Foundation's high-impact research programs in helping us move closer to our goal of accelerating a cure and improved therapies for the millions of patients and families affected by this disease around the world." - Kristin Pate, Vice President of Foundation and Corporate Giving, MJFF

Autism Speaks: "Give Freely's unique approach to online commerce offers customers a chance to make a real impact. By choosing to support Autism Speaks, each purchase becomes more than a transaction; it becomes a commitment to advancing research, fostering community collaboration, and amplifying the voices of those with autism. We're grateful to be part of an initiative that transforms shopping into a force for positive change." - Kelli Seely, Chief Marketing Officer, Autism Speaks

Choose Love: "We are honored to have been invited to be a part of Give Freely and we are excited to share the news with our community to give them a new way to help make our work, supporting refugees and displaced people all over the world, possible." - Philli Boyle, Founding Member, Choose Love

March of Dimes: "The U.S. is facing an urgent maternal and infant health crisis—but together with our partners and supporters, we can end preventable maternal health risks and death, end preventable preterm birth, and close the health equity gap for every family. Give Freely gives consumers a unique opportunity where they can shop while giving back and we are excited to be part of this new and innovative model of raising funds." - Kelly Ernst, SVP, Chief Revenue & Impact Officer

Starting today, shoppers can create an account on givefreely.com, selecting a charity from 1.1 million choices. Once the browser extension is installed, it seamlessly operates in the background, requiring no further thought. Users can also freely change their charity selection, empowering them to align their giving with various causes as often as they wish.

Call to Action: Join the Give Freely Movement
Give Freely invites everyone to be a part of this transformative movement. By transforming everyday actions into meaningful contributions, we have the power to create a significant and lasting impact on the world. Join us on this journey, and together, let's make a difference.

For more information, visit givefreely.com and be a part of the Give Freely movement.

About Give Freely
Give Freely is a mission-driven company incorporated with the sole purpose of harnessing the collective power of online commerce for charitable good. Started and funded by Steve Kaufer, the visionary co-founder and longtime leader of Tripadvisor, 100% of every affiliate dollar that comes to Give Freely goes to a pool of over 1.1 million charities. Its first product is a shopping browser extension that helps people save money and raise money for charity while they shop online. Give Freely acts as a shopping assistant, finding coupons at more than 10,000 online stores and then automatically applying those coupons to save shoppers money, instantly. Give Freely is incorporated as a public benefit limited liability company.

SOURCE Give Freely