I want to start highlighting eBay Inc. attended events around the world – whether I’m going to be there or not – with a new recurring feature called “eBay on the Road”. Similar to how we provided the eBay at SXSW Overview.

This week features the 2012 NonProfit Technology Conference in San Francisco. Although I won’t personally be attending, eBay Giving Works and PayPal for Nonprofits will. Here is a breakdown of all that is happening:

2012 NonProfit Technology Conference
April 3 – 5, 2012
Union Square Hilton,
San Francisco CA

eBay Giving Works and PayPal for Nonprofits will be in booth #89.

Speaking sessions

Date: Tuesday, April 3
Time: 1:30 – 3pm
Where: Golden Gate 3
Presenter: eBay Giving Works
Title: Maximize Your Fundraising Efforts from eBay’s Passionate and Generous Community of 100M+
Description: We have so many effective tools available for nonprofit fundraising; we want to make sure that all nonprofits know what they are and how to take full advantage of them. Please join the eBay Giving Works team and partners in this session to learn about raising funds from eBay buyers as they checkout, from sellers every time they make a sale, by selling directly, and through high-profile auctions.
Full session info.

Date: Thursday, April 5
Time: 1:30am – 12pm
Where: Golden Gate 8
Presenter: PayPal for Nonprofits
Title: Mobile-ize with PayPal: Get More Money Now From the Mobile Web
Description: Mobile web transactions via PayPal have grown from $0 to $4 billion in just three years. Join our mobile and nonprofit experts to learn how our tools work, and hear what we’ve learned as a leader in mobile commerce. We’ll also offer best practices you can use to improve donor conversion for anyone reading your emails or visiting your website on a mobile device.
Full session info.

TWITTER:
We’ll be tweeting daily from the conference using the two following handles:
@ebaygiving
@paypalnonprofit

Hashtag:
#12NTC

We’ll also be posting images / updates on Facebook.

Finally, there will be a number of videos playing in the booth throughout the conference, including the video at the top of this post featuring eBay Ink Social Media Seller – Kat Simpson.

Cheers,
RBH

eBay Giving Works is slashing the minimum donation to $1 per listing. For as little as $1 (or the donation percentage you select, whichever is greater) you can donate to your favorite nonprofit whenever you sell on eBay. This change applies to all eBay Giving Works listings that sell on or after October 1, 2009.

Plus, eBay Giving Works is extending the automatic collection date for donations from the second Monday after a listing ends to the fourth Monday after a listing ends. The extra two weeks will give sellers more time to receive their funds from PayPal and the buyer—before MissionFish collects the donation.

As always, donation minimums and collections dates do not apply to nonprofits selling on eBay to raise funds for themselves, and donations can always be paid any time after an eBay Giving Works listings ends.

In this economy, we know it can be hard to find room in your budget for donations. We are inspired by the continued generosity of the eBay Community and hope these changes will make it even easier to support the causes that matter most to you.

Sincerely,
Seema Shah
General Manager, eBay Giving Works

Check out The Chatter and the What Gives!? blog to learn more.

Cheers,
RBH

First of all, it’s been a month since the eBay Foundation launched the Community Gives campaign that asks Community members and eBay employees to give alongside the Foundation to three inspiring nonprofits:

* First Book - supporting children’s literacy programs.
* Best Friends Animal Society - fostering animal welfare.
* Oxfam - providing access to clean water.

To learn more, check out the Community Gives Web site. With the donation of funds, First Book will provide more than 300,000 new books to children in need throughout the U.S. Best Friends will build a new puppy care center at its sanctuary in Utah, significantly improving their capacity to care for sick and injured puppies. Oxfam will provide access to clean water, a life-saving difference for thousands of Africans living in poverty.

eBay Foundation has sweetened the pot by offering a $1 million donation, to be split evenly among the three organizations. It will also give another $1 for each person who gives during the campaign, up to $100,000.

“By giving together, we can have a bigger impact than any of us could on our own,” said Bill Barmeier, vice president, Global Citizenship. “Through Community Gives, we’re harnessing ‘the power of all of us’ to do great things for three great nonprofits.”

I also saw the following on the internal (iWeb) site for employees and wanted to share:

Since launching in the U.S. in 2003 and in the UK in 2005, eBay Giving Works and eBay for Charity have been committed to making it easy and intuitive for people to raise money for important causes by buying and selling on eBay. Last week, the teams took a big leap toward that goal by rolling out several product enhancements to make the selling experience more streamlined.

Now, sellers can use “My eBay” as a one-stop shop for managing all of their eBay Giving Works and eBay for Charity activity: listings, donations, and tax receipts. Within “My eBay,” the Mission Fish Seller Account is now retired, replaced by a Donation Account.

Similarly, sellers new to the program can get started with just one click. Registering and placing a credit card on file with MissionFish is no longer necessary; the only requirement for creating eBay Giving Works and eBay for Charity listings is to simply agree to the program terms and conditions.

Additionally, the eBay Giving Works and eBay for Charity part of the “Sell Your Item” form is easier to use and more attractive.

“We know sellers have found it cumbersome to use the program,” said Tamas Karpati, product manager for eBay Giving Works, who led this incredibly complex project. “We wanted to make the process as easy as possible, so more people could support their favorite charities more often. By making it easier for sellers to create charity listings and manage their donations, the Community can raise even more money for worthy causes.”

To coincide with these product enhancements, eBay Giving Works and eBay for Charity have redesigned their sites, giving them a new look and fresh content. This will make it easier to learn more about the program and get involved by buying and selling items that benefit nonprofits. Take a peek at http://www.ebaygivingworks.com and http://www.ebay.co.uk/charity.

Finally, please don’t forget that the blog roll on the lower right side of the homepage for eBay Ink includes a link to the relatively new What Gives!? blog that focuses on creating social good.

What Gives!? is already generating positive feedback from its early – and active – users, who regularly read posts and leave comments. “We’re really excited about the great response to the blog so far,” said Roman Garcia, marketing specialist for eBay Giving Works, who developed the concept for What Gives!? and manages the content.

“When we first started thinking about having a blog, we saw it primarily as a new way to communicate to the eBay Giving Works audience,” he said. “But as the idea evolved, we saw the potential for this to be a unique platform to highlight all of our Global Citizenship initiatives in a credible way without coming off as boastful and self-serving. We hope our readers will be inspired to take part in our different offerings.”

To learn more, please visit the What Gives!? blog and the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy.

Thank you,
RBH

http://www.ebay.com/myanmarrelief