Hook, Line and Sinker

The way it works:

• An eBay seller selects a charity he wishes to support with an online auction.

• MissionFish contacts the organization to ensure that it’s comfortable with receiving proceeds from a particular item. (A cancer-research institute most likely will pass on a collectible lighter; an animal-welfare organization might say no to a fur coat.)

• When a standard eBay Giving Works auction ends, MissionFish gets in touch with the seller to remind him about the pledge. Sellers can click a link in a triggered e-mail to pay MissionFish the amount raised for the designated organization. (On the second Monday after the sale ends, MissionFish automatically charges the seller’s credit card if payment isn’t made.)

• MissionFish collects the donation and holds it for roughly 45 days, as there is a window on eBay when both buyer and seller can collect a refund.

• MissionFish delivers the funds raised to the nonprofit organization via electronic funds transfer. For its efforts, MissionFish keeps $3 plus 2.9 percent of each donation.

When you consider eBay’s formidable presence in the online marketplace and the innovative MissionFish program, it’s a win-win for nonprofits.