At online marketplace for $5 tasks, proceeds get donated to charity

Raise5 is an online marketplace for 5 dollar tasks where the funds paid get donated to charity.

There are few things more inspiring than seeing a good idea picked up and repurposed with a charitable twist. Case in point: Canadian Raise5, a site that looks much like Israeli Fiverr in that it’s an online marketplace for 5 dollar tasks. The difference? Instead of benefiting those performing the tasks, the funds paid get donated to charity. Charitably minded consumers begin by offering some service or task on Raise5 for a flat rate of CAD 5 — teaching a 15-minute French lesson, for example, or setting up a new laptop. When they register their service, such users also select a charity or non-profit they’d like to benefit. Then, others can browse the site for services they could use. Once they find one, they can buy the service for the CAD 5 price, and the money will go to the service donor’s chosen charity or non-profit. Raise5, meanwhile, takes CAD 1 from each transaction to cover its own costs. There’s clearly an enduring allure to the 5 dollar price point, but a charitable purpose steps up that allure another notch or two. A model to emulate in the niche or region of your choice?