Method and System for Automated Online College Scholarship Donations

摘要

In one example, we describe methods and systems for automated online merchant charity donations. In one embodiment, a donation agent interacting with a merchant website can offer an online user an option to allocate at least a portion of a payment for or price of a purchase, associated with a transaction made by the user via the merchant website, to be donated by a merchant corresponding to the merchant website on behalf of the user to a charity of the user's choosing. If the online user exercises the option, the donation agent can calculate an amount of the donation to be made and store the calculated donation amount in a database. The donation agent can disburse the calculated donation amount to the charity selected by the customer. The method also works for the off-line model. The points earned can be combined with a college scholarship award mechanism.

主权项

1. A method of distribution of charity funding for school scholarship, said method comprising:
a computer receiving an order for a merchandise; said computer getting a value for said merchandise from a price database; associating a donation value to said merchandise; receiving a student request for a first scholarship from multiple scholarship funds for a school through a computer interface; receiving information about said student through said computer interface; receiving information about said school through said computer interface; authenticating said school directly through a school server or through a third party organization server; initiating a secure communication to said school server; authenticating said student through said school server; receiving status of said student from said school server; said computer determining eligibility of said student based on said status of said student and said authentication step for said student through said school server; said computer allocating a portion of said donation value to said multiple scholarship funds; if said computer determines that said student is eligible for said first scholarship, then (a) an accounting module allocating fund to said first scholarship in said multiple scholarship funds, and (b) if said first scholarship exceeds a first threshold value, then said accounting module allocating fund equal to a first accumulated value to said school's bank account, from said first scholarship, on behalf of said student; said computer notifying said student and said school regarding outcome of said student request for said first scholarship.