Use a free web based email and make a small donation to charity with every email

There are several companies offering free web based email accounts (like Hotmail and Yahoo!), but only few which donate a portion of their revenue to charity. So far I have found three of these:

Hotmail via "i'm initiative"

EcologyFund

Care2

Especially if you are already using Hotmail (or Live Messenger), you should definitely signup with i'm initiative and you will be automatically creating donations for your cause.

EcologyFund uses some intrusive advertising like pop-ups and I therefore recommend using one of the other options instead. In addition to using less intrusive advertising the ads you see on Care2 are always related to ecological products and services.

How does it work?

These email providers show advertisement on either their web pages as you are reading your email or have small advertisement at the bottom of the emails that you send out. This is the way all free web based email companies make their money. The only difference is that the above mentioned email providers have agreed to donate a part of that revenue to charitable causes. It doesn't really make much of a difference to you – especially if you already happen to be using Hotmail.

So if you are signing up for a new web based email account, try using Care2, EcologyFund or Hotmail via "i'm initiative" and you will automatically help raise a little bit of money for a good cause.

Donations from email signatures

You can also signup with http://www.replyforall.com to help raise funds for your chosen cause with each email you send out. This service will add a special signature to your emails and sponsors pay for this new advertising space.