The world’s popular social news site Reddit will be giving 10 percent of their ad revenue to their chosen charity as part of the site’s philanthropy project. The site founded by Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, Reddit will turn from an entertainment and educational website into something that cares for a charity.
The announcement of the philanthropic plans of Reddit was revealed by Reddit through their CEO Yishan Wong on Reddit’s official blog. The company will take 10 percent of the revenue it makes off advertising during 2014.
The charity will be chosen by the Reddit community according to the announcement. Reddit CEO Yishan Wong was quoted as saying “We want to show that advertising doesn’t just support the reddit platform, it also directly supports the causes and goals of reddit as a whole,” Wong stated.
Reddit also clarified that they will intervene if any charity suggested by Reddit users are “clearly trolling” the company will also limit the charities to verified 501(c)(3) groups. The site will also thwart any attempts to cheat or game its voting system.
The announcement of winning charities will be revealed when 2014 comes to close as the company tallies up its total ad revenue with the top ten (10) charities to receive the promised 10 percent of Reddit’s income.
The “front page of the internet” as Reddit more popularly known started its operation on June 2005 garnering more than billions of pageviews since its inception. The company makes its money from ads, selling Reddit gold, and through Redditgifts marketplace. The website Reddit continues to be a free site, though it offers users a premium membership that costs $3.99 a month, or $29.99 a year.
Reddit CEO Yishan Wong revealed during an interview with Reuters last December that the backers of the company told them that they must not worry about making money but just keep the money and grow things.