Philanthropy management apparatus, system, and methods of use and doing business

Abstract

A philanthropic donation management system and methods of use and doing business. The system includes a computing server in communication with a communications network, such as the Internet, a LAN, or a WAN. The computing server maintains information about charitable projects and provides remote users and others with management tools for inputting information about charitable projects, pre-approving or otherwise assessing them, and accessing and managing charitable project information, portfolios, user team member information and access. The system can provide a business based on, for example, providing system, access, charitable fund management, and charitable donation transaction fees.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of managing charitable donations into charitable projects, the method comprising the steps of: 
 A. providing at least one server computing system connected to a communication network supporting communications through one or more communications networks including the Internet,    B. maintaining in association with server computing system at least one charitable donation project database system having project data regarding a plurality of charitable projects; and    C. providing access to the project data to a plurality of remote computing devices through said one or more public communications networks and server computing system.    
     
     
         2 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 1  including the step of: charging a fee in connection with performing at least a portion of said method.  
     
     
         3 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 1  also including the step of pre-determining criteria for providing approval of a charitable project for receipt of charitable funding and wherein, in the maintaining step B, the project data for each of said charitable projects includes project approval data according to said pre-determined criteria.  
     
     
         4 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 2  also including the step of pre-determining criteria for providing approval of a charitable project for receipt of charitable funding and wherein, in the maintaining step B, the project data for each of said charitable projects includes project approval data according to said pre-determined criteria.  
     
     
         5 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 1  wherein the providing access step C includes providing browser-based user interface information to said remote computing devices whereby said remote computing devices may display at least a portion of said project data.  
     
     
         6 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 2  wherein the providing access step C includes providing browser-based user interface information to said remote computing devices whereby said remote computing devices may display at least a portion of said project data.  
     
     
         7 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 3  wherein the providing access step C includes providing browser-based user interface information to said remote computing devices whereby said remote computing devices may display at least a portion of said project data.  
     
     
         8 . The method of managing charitable donations of  claim 4  wherein the providing access step C includes providing browser-based user interface information to said remote computing devices whereby said remote computing devices may display at least a portion of said project data.  
     
     
         9 . A method of managing charitable project information, the method including the steps of: 
 A. Maintaining charitable project data for a plurality of charitable projects;    B. providing a server system with access to said charitable project data;    C. providing access to the server system through a communications network;    D. allowing one among a plurality of pre-approved remote users to login to the server system through said communications network and thereby gain access to said charitable project data; and    E. providing each of said pre-approved remote users with interface information through which said remote user may transfer to the server system additional charitable project data for the or additional charitable projects.    
     
     
         10 . The charitable project management method of  claim 9  also including providing to said pre-approved remote users at least one interface application tool to manage activity regarding said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         11 . The charitable project management method of  claim 9  also including the steps of: 
 E. providing said pre-approved remote users at least one interface application tool and requesting pre-determined types of charitable project data through said interface application tool; and  
 F. providing review of at least a portion of said pre-determined types of charitable project data; and  
 G. providing determination if the reviewed pre-determined types of charitable project data qualifies an associated charitable project for funding by one or more charitable donors.  
 
     
     
         12 . The charitable project management method of  claim 11  also including providing to said pre-approved remote users at least one interface application tool to manage activity regarding said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         13 . The charitable project management method of  claim 12  wherein the activity comprises charitable donations to one or more or said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         14 . The charitable project management method of  claim 10  also including providing a charitable donation fund transfer interface tool to a plurality of said pre-approved remote users whereby said plurality of pre-approved users may manage charitable donation transfer.  
     
     
         15 . The charitable project management method of  claim 11  also including providing a charitable donation fund transfer interface tool to at least one of said pre-approved remote users whereby the one of said pre-approved users may manage charitable donation transfer.  
     
     
         16 . The charitable project management method of  claim 12  also including providing a charitable donation fund transfer interface tool to a plurality of said pre-approved remote users whereby the plurality of said pre-approved users may manage charitable donation transfer.  
     
     
         17 . The charitable project management method of  claim 13  also including providing a charitable donation fund transfer interface tool to at least one of said pre-approved remote users whereby the one of said pre-approved users may manage charitable donation transfer.  
     
     
         18 . The charitable project management method of  claim 9  wherein the communications network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         19 . The charitable project management method of  claim 10  wherein the communications network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         20 . The charitable project management method of  claim 14  wherein the communications network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         21 . The charitable project management method of  claim 17  wherein the communications network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         25 . The charitable project management method of  claim 9  wherein the server system comprises a web-server and the interface information is browser-based.  
     
     
         26 . The charitable project management method of  claim 10  wherein the server system comprises a web-server and the interface information is browser-based.  
     
     
         27 . The charitable project management method of  claim 17  wherein the server system comprises a web-server and the interface information is browser-based.  
     
     
         28 . The charitable project management method of  claim 18  wherein the server system comprises a web-server and the interface information is browser-based.  
     
     
         29 . The charitable project management method of  claim 21  wherein the server system comprises a web-server and the interface information is browser-based.  
     
     
         30 . The charitable project management method of  claim 9  including receiving remuneration for performing at least a portion of the method.  
     
     
         31 . The charitable project management method of  claim 10  including receiving remuneration for performing at least a portion of the method.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 11  including receiving remuneration for performing at least a portion of the method.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29  including receiving remuneration for performing at least a portion of the method.  
     
     
         34 . A method of providing remote users with charitable project assessment information, the method including the steps of: 
 A. maintaining at least one charitable project computing system in communication with a computer network;    B. assessing a plurality of potential charitable projects and entering project assessment information regarding the plurality of charitable projects into the charitable project computing system;    C. allowing a plurality of remote computer users to log in to the charitable project computing system through the computer network and thereby access the project assessment information.    
     
     
         35 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the assessment information comprises financial information regarding the plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         36 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the assessment information comprises management information regarding the plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         37 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the assessment information comprises project goal information regarding the plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         38 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the assessment information comprises project geographical location information regarding the plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         39 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the assessment information comprises project approval information regarding the plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         40 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the method also includes charging a fee in connection with performing at least a portion of the method.  
     
     
         41 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the computer network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         42 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the computer network comprises a local area network.  
     
     
         43 . The charitable project assessment method of  claim 34  wherein the computer network comprises a wide area network.  
     
     
         44 . A charitable donation management system of the type accessible by a plurality of remote users through a communications network, the charitable donation management system comprising in combination: 
 A. at least one server computing system in communication with said communications network;    B. one or more charitable project databases mounted on the server computing system, the one or more charitable project databases including the identity of a plurality of pre-approved charitable projects, financial information about said plurality of pre-approved charitable projects, and project objective information about said plurality of pre-approved charitable projects; and    C. a charitable project data server system mounted on the server computing system in communication with the one or more charitable project databases and the communications network.    
     
     
         45 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 44  wherein the communications network includes the Internet.  
     
     
         46 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 44  wherein the communications network includes a local area network.  
     
     
         47 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 44  wherein the communications network includes a wide area network.  
     
     
         48 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 44  wherein the charitable project data server system is browser based.  
     
     
         49 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 45  wherein the server computing system comprises a web-server.  
     
     
         50 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 45  wherein the one or more charitable project databases include remote user team information.  
     
     
         51 . The charitable project donation management system of  claim 46  wherein the one or more charitable project databases include pre-approved remote user login information.  
     
     
         52 . A method of providing charitable project management service for a fee, the charitable project management method including the steps of: 
 A. maintaining information about a plurality of charitable projects on a computing server system in communication with a communications network;    B. charging remote users a fee in connection with accessing said charitable project information on said computing server system through said communications network.    
     
     
         53 . The charitable project management service of  claim 52  wherein the communications network comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         54 . The charitable project management service of  claim 52  wherein the information includes financial information about said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         55 . The charitable project management service of  claim 52  wherein the information includes project goal information about said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         56 . The charitable project management service of  claim 52  wherein the information includes project assessment information about said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         57 . The charitable project management service of  claim 56  wherein the information includes project goal information about said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         58 . The chartable project management service of  claim 57  wherein the information includes financial information about said plurality of charitable projects.  
     
     
         59 . The charitable project management service of  claim 58  wherein the computing server system comprises the Internet.  
     
     
         60 . The charitable project management service of  claim 54  wherein the method also includes providing each among the remote users with a management tool for managing at least one portfolio of one or more charitable projects.  
     
     
         61 . The charitable project management service of  claim 58  wherein the method also includes providing each among the remote users with a management tool for managing at least one portfolio of one or more charitable projects.  
     
     
         62 . The charitable project management service of  claim 59  wherein the method also includes providing each among the remote users with a management tool for managing at least one portfolio of one or more charitable projects.  
     
     
         63 . The charitable project management service of  claim 62  wherein the method also includes providing each among the remote users with an project information upload facility, whereby a user may transfer to the computing server system information about a charitable project for subsequent access by other remote users.