Conscientious Company Revolutionizes Charitable Giving by Introducing Complete E-Philanthropy Web Site.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 1999--

Internet Solution Drives Charity Marketing Costs Down, Exposes Worthy

Causes to a New Universe of Donors and Increases Donations while

Improving the Giving Experience

With an offering that will revolutionize the world of philanthropy, Charitableway, an e-philanthropy innovation company, today announced the launch of www.charitableway.com -- a destination web portal that allows charities, donors, philanthropic organizations, and businesses to leverage the power of the Internet to increase charitable giving in America.

The Charitableway e-philanthropy web site delivers economies of scale as well as new levels of efficiency and reach for registered charities that exposes nonprofit organizations to a broad universe of donors through the Internet. The Charitableway e-philanthropy solution streamlines charities' marketing efforts, reduces costs and allows them to devote more of their time and energy to much-needed charitable activities.

"We believe that the Internet is the key to making charitable behavior part of society's everyday life," said Pete Mountanos, Founder and CEO of Charitableway. "Until now, charities have not had a voice online, or a simple way to leverage the Internet as a forum. At Charitableway, we have created an avenue for the nonprofit world to have a strong and effective presence on the Internet, while making giving simple and rewarding for donors."

The company has created a "donor-centric" experience that provides visitors with a personalized and frictionless means to research, volunteer with, and donate resources to worthy charities through a streamlined, secure process.

Charitableway is the only online charity portal that makes use of all available ways to raise money for charities over the Internet, including by credit card, payroll solutions, shopping, auctions, employee giving programs, and personalization features while using a process that informs, empowers, and supports all parties involved -- from donor to charity and back again.

Using advanced technologies that are otherwise unaffordable and inaccessible to most charitable organizations, Charitableway establishes a presence for charities on the Internet exposing them to a new universe of millions of donors who enjoy a personalized, convenient, and efficient giving experience. It allows donors and charities to participate in philanthropic activities in an intelligent and modern way.

Donations are deposited directly into a trust bank account at Comerica Bank. Contributions made through www.charitableway.com are tax deductible, and individuals are able to track their donations throughout the year for tax and record-keeping purposes.

Among the thousands of local and national charities represented on the site are the United Way Silicon Valley, Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Rock the Vote, National Breast Cancer Coalition, and the Human Rights Watch. Each charity's listing includes information about the third party organizations or federations that recognize the group.

"We are proud to have a web page on the Charitableway.com site," said Mark Moulton, executive director of the Peninsula Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. "We think this exposure for Peninsula Habitat represents a tremendous opportunity for us to reach a whole new base of next-generation donors, as well as those who are looking for more choice in philanthropy at both the local and national level."

According to Giving USA, total charitable donations in the U.S. were $175 billion in 1998 with eighty-three percent of these donations coming from individuals. There are currently 48 million weekly users of the Internet in the United States, and over 3.5 million of these users have already directed support to nonprofits online, according to a recent study released by Cravers, Mathews, Smith & Company.

By making it easier and more convenient to give, Charitableway is opening the door to dramatically increasing charitable contributions in America.

"The magic of the Internet is through its ability to create one-on-one and individualized experiences. In the case of charitable giving, it is a way for people to directly connect with the causes they care about and their communities," said Mountanos. "Charitableway has built a system that puts all of the technologies and capabilities available on the Internet today to work on behalf of nonprofit organizations."

By working with Charitableway, nonprofit organizations can also form winning alliances that increase their exposure and establish competitive advantages on the Net. Charitableway establishes partnership agreements with each of its represented charities to ensure that each charity's needs are better understood and met. By forming true partnerships, Charitableway and nonprofit organizations are able to jointly harness the full power of the Internet.

Charitable organizations, foundations, and businesses benefit from an easily customized system that allows them to interact with their supporters and employees in a valuable and individualized way.

Charitableway has designed a system that improves its ability to market, build awareness, create partnerships with businesses to help drive traffic on the Internet and generate new incentives for people to give. Through these connections, Charitableway can work with companies to incorporate philanthropy into their web-based business model.

Charitableway is an avenue for charities to act on "Internet time" and remain competitive in the highly crowded Internet environment.

Charitableway is using the Internet today to unlock the potential of charitable giving for tomorrow. The company has built the infrastructure for charities to gain exposure to a universe of online donors while making it simple and efficient for donors to give.

Charitableway uses key Internet partnerships to bring together thousands of charities and millions of donors through a simple, convenient giving mechanism. Charitableway is fundamentally changing the way America gives.