WishingFund: Grant Mini-Wishes to Needy People for $2 a Month

Lat monday, Scott Kurlan made an unusual plea on his blog at WishingFund. His new site needed people to sign up to receive $50 for themselves, or another good cause, no strings attached. His brand new site was about to launch, and it had 25 donors lined up and ready to start granting small "wishes," but there weren't enough requests for the cash.

A few days later, the site had its requests and launched on schedule, but Kurlan is still looking for a "few more amazing wishes" to really get the kindness marketplace moving.

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Here's how it works. Needy people, or anyone with a good idea, can write in with a wish costing $50 or less. Members pledge to pay the modest sum of $2 per month to a wish pool. That earns them the right to vote on which wishes will come true. So far, those members have funded wishes for school supplies for Brazilian kids, care packages and cigars for troops, and toys for hospital play rooms, among others. It's simple and it's fun.

Like Philanthroper, a daily-deal micro-donation site, WishingFund is designed to empower anyone to get involved with giving. The WishingFund website explains: "We wanted to make sure that everyone who wants to help feels engaged, included and important."

Judging by the transparent accounting posted on its homepage, WishingFund could do with a few more donations. It doesn't quite have the funds to grant one wish a day yet. But we're eager to see what kinds of kindness get doled out as the site expands.