App rounds up your purchases, puts the change toward charity

Every drop counts

We all like to think that we are generous, helpful people. Sometimes we plan to make a big donation to a deserving charity, but then life gets in the way, and we never get around to it.

A new app called Drops is making it easy to be a good Samaritan. We’ve written before about apps that round up your purchases and invest the spare change in the stock market, but Drops seems to be designed for folks who simply want to share their abundance with a worthy cause.

You choose the charity

Drops is an entirely mobile app, so you won’t need to open your computer’s web browser to sign up. You simply download the app to your smartphone. Drops uses bank grade security and encryption to link directly to your bank account. Each time you make a purchase on a debit or credit card linked to Drops, the app rounds up your purchase, taking the remainder of the dollar from your bank account and donating it directly to a charity you choose.

Drops doesn’t take a cut

Drops is so named because, according to their founder, Shea Rouda, while “each roundup might seem like a drop in the bucket” eventually “your change adds up, and over time a small roundup leads to a big impact.”

Unlike other “roundup” apps that sometimes charge a fee as high as 10 percent, Drops doesn’t take a cut from your donation – every last penny goes to the charity of your choice. However, you can choose to optionally “tip” one, two, or three dollars per month, to support Drops itself. The startup is in the process of becoming a non-profit, so even your tip will be recycled back into a charitable cause.

Keep or donate

You can set a monetary goal for the month, with a minimum of five dollars to charity, or you can try it out month-to-month. Once you’ve reached your monthly donation goal, you can either keep donating, or keep your spare change. In fact, Drops always gives you the option to keep your roundup instead of donating, so when you are strapped for cash, you won’t be stuck with an automatic payment you can’t afford.

And of course, Drops also provides a tax receipt so you can take a deduction for your donation.

Drops seems like an easy way to share your abundance with others in need. Why not give it a try? After all, every drop counts.

#EveryDropCounts