eBay Giving Works Celebrates Milestone Of $150 Million Raised And Unveils New Program Enhancements

Program to Honor Top Charitable Sellers at eBay Live! Chicago and Celebrate its Five-Year Anniversary

CHICAGO and SAN JOSE, Calif.— eBay Giving Works, eBay’s program that empowers people to buy and sell for a cause, announced today that eBay’s Community has to date raised more than $150 million for global causes through charity listings on eBay. eBay Giving Works is celebrating its five-year anniversary by introducing several program enhancements to make it even easier for the eBay Community to support their favorite nonprofits. eBay Giving Works announced the $150 million milestone at the eBay Live! Community conference today in Chicago.

“Last year at eBay Live! we were proud to announce the eBay Community had surpassed $100 million in funds raised for charity, and in just one year, that number has increased by 50 percent,” said Kristin Cunningham, general manager, eBay Giving Works. “We recently launched several exciting changes to our program and plan to offer a new way to give, ’Donate Now,’ later this summer, exemplifying eBay Inc.’s continued commitment to socially-responsible commerce and empowering people to create the good that matters most to them.”

$150 Million Donation Milestone

Weston Jewelry (eBay User ID: westonjewelry) was one of the sellers who helped surpass the $150 million charity donation mark, through the sale of a natural ruby and diamond ring. They donated 100 percent of the ring’s sale price to UNICEF to benefit the victims of the recent Myanmar Cyclone disaster, as Myanmar is known for its stunning rubies. The company is based in Seattle, Wash., and is run by business partners, Weston Macdonald and Michael Magnotti, who have been selling vintage and estate fine jewelry on eBay for over 10 years.

“We are fortunate to have a successful business on eBay and feel it’s important to give back by regularly selling with eBay Giving Works to benefit various causes,” said Michael Magnotti, owner of Weston Jewelry. “To help survivors of the devastating earthquake in China’s Sichuan province, we listed Chinese jade jewelry for charity and each October for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we list all our pink gemstones for the cause.”
New eBay Giving Works enhancements include:

* Donate Now: launching later this summer, enables the eBay Community to support the causes they care about by making a contribution via PayPal within the eBay Giving Works platform, to a certified nonprofit of their choice.
* Redesigned eBay Giving Works site: featuring a streamlined new look and fresh, updated content at www.ebaygivingworks.com. The updated interface features improved search functionality so shoppers have a quick and easy way to make socially-conscious purchases, also making it easier for individual sellers to drive attention to their favorite causes.
* New Donation Account in My eBay: allows sellers to manage their eBay Giving Works activity directly from My eBay - including the ability to manage listings, donations, tax receipts and more.
* Streamlined Registration for first-time sellers: simply accept the program’s new and simplified Terms & Conditions and start selling with eBay Giving Works.

In conjunction with today’s announcements, eBay also granted several outstanding members of the Community the second annual eBay Giving Works Golden Ribbon Award during eBay’s Community conference in Chicago, eBay Live!:

* 2008 Golden Ribbon Award, Community Seller: Danna Crawford, eBay User ID danna
o Danna Crawford, who has been selling a variety of clothing, household, entertainment and sporting goods items on eBay for over 10 years, supports various nonprofits through her eBay listings. She has also served as a committed eBay Giving Works advocate, launching an eBay Group called “Just Be Cause Auctions,” to help other sellers grow their eBay businesses through cause marketing. Crawford also shares the benefits of eBay Giving Works through her radio personal radio show and through her eBook, called “Charity Auctions.”

* 2008 Golden Ribbon Award, Nonprofit: Make Yourself Foundation, Incubus, eBay User ID makeyourselffoundation
o The Make Yourself Foundation is a nonprofit organization conceived by the members of the rock band Incubus, which auctions tickets and memorabilia via eBay Giving Works. The Foundation allows band members to use a portion of their proceeds from all band-related activity and online eBay sales to fund various environmental and arts-related causes which include the Surfrider Foundation, Save the Music, Future Forests and Heal the Bay. Last year, the Foundation raised over $600,000 for causes like these via eBay Giving Works auctions.

* 2008 Top Community Selling Fundraiser Award: Todd Denlinger, eBay User ID snowdealsnow
o In 2007, ski equipment seller, Todd Denlinger, located in Warriors Mark, Pa., raised over $80,000 for Farm Sanctuary, the leader in farm animal protection. This marks the second year that Denlinger has won this award after donating 10 percent of sales to Farm Sanctuary.

* 2008 Top Nonprofit Fundraiser Through Direct Selling Award: CarAngel Ministries, eBay User ID boatangel
o With the goal of aiding the world’s impoverished and underprivileged women and children, CarAngel provides them with scholarships, means of transportation and educational/rehabilitation materials. It raised over $3.62 million in 2007 by selling vehicles and boats on eBay. CarAngel also received this inaugural award in 2007.

About eBay Giving Works

eBay Giving Works is one of eBay Inc.’s Global Citizenship Initiatives and connects people with causes they care about to facilitate convenient and trusted fundraising. To date, more than $150 million has been raised for charity from listings on eBay. With eBay Giving Works on eBay.com and eBay for Charity on eBay.co.uk, sellers can opt to donate part or all of a sale to any of 15,000+ certified nonprofits, with eBay crediting back some basic selling fees. Nonprofits can also sell directly on eBay to fundraise and program integrity is ensured by MissionFish, eBay’s nonprofit partner. Charity listings on eBay stand out with a special icon, making it easy for buyers to shop for a cause and turning ecommerce into a force for good. more information visit www.ebaygivingworks.com