Turning workout miles into charitable donations

Marathons and races have long been used as a way to raise money for charity, but opportunities to participate in such fundraising efforts are typically few and far between. A new site dedicated to combining exercise and charity, however, aims to help consumers get corporate sponsorship for their everyday exercise activities. Plus 3 Network, based in California, lets consumers turn every step, turn of the pedal or stroke in the pool into a fundraising effort for the cause of their choice. Consumers begin by signing up at no cost and choosing the cause they’d like to support. Plus 3 then matches that cause with a corporate sponsor who is willing to make donations for each mile of exercise activity logged. Consumers then simply record their walking, running, biking or swimming activities on Plus 3–either by manually entering them on the site, or by uploading GPS data that includes the course, the pace, the distance and the date. Corporate sponsors donate anywhere from USD 0.0033 to USD 0.2 per mile, with GPS data earning three times as many rewards as those entered by hand. Social networking features allow users to form groups and add friends for joint activities, and participants can also earn prizes, discounts and swag ranging from trinkets to junkets, the site says. Plus 3, meanwhile, is paid by its sponsors for the opportunity to connect with members, thereby keeping the site ad-free. With benefits for consumers, corporate sponsors, charitable organizations and itself, Plus 3 offers an all-too-rare, four-way win-win-win-win proposition. It doesn’t get much better than that! 😉 (Related: Tricycle race benefits social entrepreneurs.) Spotted by: Chris Matthews