Greg Unruh, Founder

My name is Greg Unruh, and I am the founder of GiveWithoutGiving.org and the GIVE social network. I welcome the opportunity to share these two wonderful programs with you. I feel truly blessed that life has afforded me the opportunity to pursue my passions and give back to those that have given so much to me and others.

I created the GIVE social network because I felt social networks like Facebook and MySpace lacked focus as it relates to charitable giving. I also felt user groups like MSN, Google, and Yahoo were limited in features and functionality; hence, I wanted to combine the best of both worlds. The GIVE social network does exactly that!

As a compliment to the GIVE social network, I want to share a new and innovative fundraising vehicle. I founded GiveWithoutGiving.org several years ago, and it has evolved over time. The program is now centered around providing FREE virtual billboards representing a wide range of charitable organizations and causes. A virtual billboard is to the Internet what a roadside billboard is to a freeway. As potential contributors travel down the "Information Super Highway", they will find virtual billboards on web sites they visit, blogs they read, emails they receive, and in news letters they subscribe to! As potential contributors come upon these virtual billboards, they will notice that each one represents a charitable organization or cause. They are given the opportunity to purchase space on the virtual billboard that represents the organization or cause they endorse. They can use this space to honor or pay tribute to a special someone, or to advertise a business or special interest. An industry-leading 90% of all contributions made to a virtual billboard are donated to the organization or cause it represents. When contributors purchase space on a virtual billboard, they can upload a picture or logo, include a brief description or message, and attach a link to a web site they would like to direct visitors to.

As an illustration, I've embedded a small virtual billboard on my personal GIVE page to demonstrate how it can be integrated into an existing web site or page (see below). You won't be able to do this on your personal GIVE page since we disallow Javascript to protect our members, but you can embed it into your existing web site for your organization or cause as demonstrated below. However, you can insert a text link or banner on your personal GIVE page that points to your virtual billboard. If you have a Facebook or MySpace account, you can also embed a GIVE badge to help increase visibility for your organization or cause.