Tree-Planting Campaign Nets Many Donations.

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Author: Preston, CarolineWallace, Nicole

TECHNOLOGY

THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND has raised $300,000 since May 2004 by updating a century-old fund-raising tool for the Internet age.

The New York charity has been planting trees overseas since its start in 1901. Today, donors purchase trees that are planted in Israel in the name of family and friends, typically to memorialize someone or to celebrate an event. They can buy the trees individually or through the charity's EZ-Tree program, which it created in 2001, after seeing that many people were buying more than one tree at a time.

And last year the charity gave donors the option of purchasing accounts online. While a single tree costs $18, 10 trees can be purchased through the account for $100.

Since the accounts "went live" on the Internet last year, Web shoppers have been outpacing contributors who buy the accounts over the phone, the charity says. Between 100 and 150 people, most of whom are new to the group, are using the Internet to sign up each month, according to Matt Jacobs, the group's interactive-marketing manager. Users receive an account name, number, and password, which make it easy for them to give again.

Web users can also decide if they want the charity to send a certificate in the mail, or create an "e-certificate" with a personal message, to inform the person who was honored by the donation.

Account holders also receive a wallet-size EZ-Tree Account Card and magnets that display their account numbers, as well as contact information for the charity. To get there: Go to http://www.jnf.org.

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By Caroline Preston and Nicole Wallace