How does it work?

In short, after installing Altruisto, when you visit one of our partner stores you will see a special box with a button saying “Activate donation.” When you click this button, you will be redirected back to the partner store (exactly where you were before). When you buy something, Altruisto receives a portion of the price you pay (usually between 2% and 6%). We donate our profits to carefully selected charities. Some stores will require you to repeat the process after some time.

Does it cost me anything to use Altruisto?

No, Altruisto is absolutely free to use. The prices in the online stores are exactly the same whether you use altruisto or not.

How can I be sure that the money will be donated to charities?

Altruisto is set up as Community Interest Company.

From Wikipedia:

A community interest company (CIC) is a type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government in 2005 under the Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Act 2004, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. CICs are intended to be easy to set up, with all the flexibility and certainty of the company form, but with some special features to ensure they are working for the benefit of the community.

What percentage of the purchase is donated to charities?

Altruisto receives usually 2-6% of the final purchase price. The percentage depends on the shop and the particular product.

What stores does Altruisto work with?

We have partnered with several big e-commerce businesses such as Ebay, Microsoft, Booking.com, Aliexpress, Etsy, Barnes&Noble, and over 1000 others. A full list of partner stores can be found at: https://altruisto.com/partners

What charities do you support and why these and not others?

We have several cause areas you can choose from when you create an account. You can support the fight against extreme poverty, with Against Malaria Foundation, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, and Give Directly. You can also support the fight against animal suffering, with Anima International.

The charities we've chosen to support have been recommended by either GiveWell or Animal Charity Evaluators, organizations that do in-depth research into how well charities do what they are supposed to do and chooses the best ones. As a result, the charities we support are exceptional at improving the lives of people living in extreme poverty or reducing animal suffering.

Selected charities are evidence-backed, thoroughly vetted, and underfunded.

Therefore, you can be sure the money they receive from your online shopping is used to do as much good as possible. Also, because the charities are so efficient with their funds, every small purchase in altruisto's partners' shops makes a real difference.