SwipeGood rounds up $500K seed from angels

For-profit business enables users to donate to charity of their choice with every card purchase

SwipeGood, a for-profit business that enables people to donate to charity with every purchase, has raised $500,000 in new funding from Bebo co-founder Michael Birch, Start Fund (the new Yuri Milner and SV Angel partnership), Y Combinator, Ron Bouganim, MR Rangaswami (Sandhill Group), and Frederik Fleck (Richmond View Ventures).
 
Instead of just having you donate a set amount to charity each month, SwipeGood makes things interesting by letting you donate a portion of your bill every time you use your credit or debit card. Purchases are rounded up to the nearest dollar, so a $15.47 purchase would actually cost $16.00 flat, with 53 cents going to the charity of your choice.
 
On average, people round up $15 per month. Users worried about donating more than their means can also set a monthly maximum. SwipeGood sends out a monthly statement detailing your donation expenses for the last period and donations can be paused at anytime.
 
Every good cause you can think of has a featured charity on SwipeGood: poverty (Action Against Hunger, Food For the Poor), animals (ASPCA), water (charity: water), education (DonorsChoose.org, Room To Read), children and youth (Invisible Children) and healthcare (Ronald McDonald House at Stanford).

 
With 213 different charities, SwipeGood has something for everyone. As I scrolled through the list, I recognized quite a few names, but when I saw the VH1 Save the Music Foundation, I knew I had to sign up. There are also a few more controversial nonprofits, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, both made famous for aggressive campaigns uncharacteristic of many other organizations.
 
Currently supported banks include Bank of America, American Express, Chase, and Wells Fargo. For all other banks, users can only set a fixed monthly donation instead of rounding up from purchases.
 
SwipeGood makes money off of each monthly donation: five percent goes to operational costs and 2.5 percent goes to third-party processing fees.