New reports are just in that many technology companies are encouraging their users to donate money to contribute to relief funds for the survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan just a few days ago. This however, is not really a new trend. This is very similar to their stance last year just after the Haiti earthquakes. As we have learned very recently, gamers who frequent the site Zynga.com have reportedly donated over $1 million for the survivors of the quake. A Facebook Causes app also implores Facebook users to donate a certain sum of money to help the struggling survivors in Japan. It is rumored that the Facebook app has raised close to $700,000 for the Japan cause in less than a week.
Just a few hours ago, even market giants like PayPal and its parent company eBay have announced that $1 million have been raised by users for the sake of tsunami and earthquake relief campaigns all over Japan. PayPal users have donated over $800,000 via the company’s large web campaign to help the survivors in Japan. Users can pick which organization they would like to donate their money to, which include organizations like Red Cross, Hands On Tokyo and Global Giving, apart from many others.
Buyers and sellers on eBay have raised over $200,000 by donating proceeds from their eBay transactions. There is also an option to donate money at the checkout stage. This also includes donations that were made by users over their mobile phones. PayPal has also just announced that they are willing to donate all the transaction fees that the company makes from March 11th to April 10th 2011, to relief organizations. This money will be transferred to any US or Canada revenue agency that is registered as a relief organization for the earthquake survivors.
