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Support offers in support of storm "Sandy" relief (not charitable contributions)

Support offers in support of storm "Sandy" relief (not charitable contributions)

Old Nov 2, 2012, 1:13 pm
  #1  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
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Support offers in support of storm "Sandy" relief (not charitable contributions)

Some offers and activities that support relief efforts for those affected by post-tropical storm "Sandy" have been brought to our attention. As concerned FlyerTalkers, we wish to support those affected by the recent storms in the northeast, but ordinarily some of these would not qualify as threads for FlyerTalk Cares! because they are not direct contributions to charitable organizations as outlined in FlyerTalk Cares! Guidelines for posting, or because they would violate guidelines about commercial posting. (See applicable FT and FT Cares! guidelines below).

Nonetheless, they might provide opportunities to purchase a service from a travel-related business or company that also offers support to an approved charity as part of the purchase price - such as an offer to share profits from a purchase of services or goods with a disaster relief agency - that members might purchase anyway, but might be further inclined to do so because of the business' contributions toward recognized charitable relief efforts and agencies.

Other appropriate posts would include opportunities provided by an airline for members' donation of miles or points to, or in support of, organizations involved in charitable relief efforts. (Purely commercial posts, and members making them, will be summarily deleted and fully subject to the FlyerTalk Rules and Guidelines; charitable relief efforts supported must follow FlyerTalk Cares! Guidelines; purely token offers will be subject to deletion (e.g. five cents for a $5.00 purchase).

Be aware: We, , our members and other users may provide information about such offers and links to other Websites for your convenience. However, we (Internet Brands and FlyerTalk and its employees and volunteers) do not review, endorse, approve or exercise any control over the the offers made here. We make no claim or representation regarding and accept no responsibility for, the quality, content, nature or reliability of these offers, and your use of them is at your risk. We do not offer to audit, assure or enforce any term or offer you may accept.

If you make such a purchase or contribution via this thread it is not likely to be deductible for tax purposes (e.g. purchasing goods or services, in which the company selling is the one that will take the deduction and credit, and the contribution of miles or points, as they are not generally taxable items when earned (but are if won) are not deductible when given either.

Originally Posted by Flyertalk Cares! guidelines
We do not allow requests for commercial endeavors, mutual benefit organizations (such as Prosper.com) that provide interest on loans, those that offer incentives for recruiting or joining, those that spend over 33% of funds raised (CTRAD / Cost To Raise A Dollar exceeds 33 cents) on administrative functions. We do not permit political giving nor asking for contributions to groups that promote hate or discriminatory actions. Neither do we allow religious giving that restricts donations to their own members.
Commercial and Charitable Messages - link to this guideline

a. Commercial posts. Posts containing promotional messages for commercial products or services - including but not limited to Internet sites, business advertisements and solicitations to donate miles or points €“ are prohibited and will be removed. FlyerTalk is not a marketplace and nothing is to be offered for sale or conditioned on an exchange of money or barter. Nothing in this rule is intended to prohibit exchange of travel coupons as allowed by the rules of Coupon Connection. If you spot a commercial post, please report it.

b. Charitable posts. FlyerTalk supports a variety of charitable organizations through the FlyerTalk Cares program found here. Because charities vary widely as to suitability for our international and diverse membership, the organization must be approved by FlyerTalk's administrators before posts soliciting contributions may be placed on FlyerTalk. To request approval of a charitable solicitation, write to a href="mailto:[email protected]">admin@flyertalk. com. Any posts soliciting charitable contributions made prior to receiving approval will be removed. We reserve the right to post announcements for donations of miles or points to recognized charities directly associated with various frequent flyer/guest programs.

Last edited by JDiver; Nov 2, 2012 at 1:28 pm
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Old Nov 2, 2012, 2:39 pm
  #2  
formerly known as daveland
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
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HotelMagician.com Sandy relief effort - and Thank you, moderators!

A big kudos to JDiver, JDiver's fellow moderators, and the Community Moderator, for this. When I originally posted my offer, there was some discussion about whether or not it was appropriate. I'm very happy that it has found to be so.

I am in the affected area - office shut with no electricity but my home is lucky enough to be in an area that has maintained power. It's quite humbling to see all of the damage and it makes one want to find a way to help.

What I am doing with HotelMagician.com is quite simple. Fully half of ALL net profits earned from now through the end of this year (2 full months) will be donated to the Red Cross for Sandy relief. That is not just money earned through this effort, but any revenue from any source.

Details are at http://hotelmagician.com/sandy/

The goal is simply to give a way to donate just by doing what you were doing anyway - like booking a hotel or applying for a travel related credit card - but do it in a way that money can go to the Red Cross. I have not seen any of the major online travel agencies do anything like this - yet most of the time our rates at hotelmagician.com and vacation magician.com are exactly the same. We are not soliciting any direct donations of any kind - if you want to give cash, please donate directly to the Red Cross.

Again, anything you might *already* be doing qualifies:

- Flyertalkers use our Interactive Hotel Maps (http://hotelmagician.com/interactive_hotel_maps) all the time and yet almost never actually book through us. Consider during this period actually completing the booking instead of going to another website to book.

- Hotel-only and vacation reservations on VacationMagician.com (sister site, different booking engine, still counts!) are identical to Priceline/Booking.com

- If you are already applying for a travel related credit card, see if we have the same offer you already found. Each card will mean a significant amount donated.

If anyone has *any* questions, please PM me.

Last edited by MilesTalk; Nov 2, 2012 at 5:15 pm
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Old Nov 3, 2012, 1:08 pm
  #3  
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http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...donations.html
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Old Nov 6, 2012, 4:30 pm
  #4  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
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American Express allows MR Points to be donated free of charges

Donate American Express Membership Rewards points here.

You may (click on a charity below <on the web page> to) make a donation using your American Express Card or to redeem Membership Rewards points to make a donation.
  • American Red Cross
  • AmeriCares
  • City Harvest
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Humane Society of the United States
  • Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City
  • Salvation Army
  • Save the Children
  • United Way of America
  • World Vision
Transaction fees charged to the charity on donations made to these charities between October 29 and November 1 will be waived retroactively and will continue being waived until December 31, 2012.

Last edited by JDiver; Nov 7, 2012 at 7:43 am Reason: add header
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Old Nov 9, 2012, 10:06 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 50
Air BnB

If you have a space to share, or are displaced as a result of Sandy, Air BnB is lending a hand and providing free listings to help get people hooked up.

https://www.airbnb.com/
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Old Nov 16, 2012, 5:47 am
  #6  
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Originally Posted by Luckylxe
If you have a space to share, or are displaced as a result of Sandy, Air BnB is lending a hand and providing free listings to help get people hooked up.

https://www.airbnb.com/
Where exactly does this say this ? I just see the main page..
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Old Nov 26, 2012, 1:04 pm
  #7  
formerly known as daveland
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Just wanted to update everyone. As of today, 11/26, we have only raised approximately $370 for Sandy relief. I admit I'm pretty dismayed that it's not much, much more. I thought a thousand would be easy. If you are doing anything travel related, please read my first post above and contact me with any questions.

Thanks!
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Old Nov 28, 2012, 10:15 am
  #8  
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Check here.

Originally Posted by Guy Betsy
Where exactly does this say this ? I just see the main page..
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Old Jan 2, 2013, 10:03 am
  #9  
formerly known as daveland
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Hi Everyone. Just wanted to post a final update on our fundraising efforts. Despite it falling well short of my hopes, we were nonetheless able to make a donation of $513.75 to the Red Cross earmarked for disaster relief. Thank you very much to those who did use our site during the past two months to help make that happen!
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Old Jan 5, 2013, 9:56 pm
  #10  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
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Congratulations, daveland, and thanks for putting your heart in the right place.
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