1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the collection and facilitation of charitable donations for a charity, corporate sponsor, or other type of sponsor and, more particularly, to the automated collection of charitable donations using a portable, configurable electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
The collection of charitable donations often involves the employment of a large number of volunteers or paid workers and time. For example, the collection of donations at a charitable event may require a staff of persons to extract promises to donate, collect donor information, and perform a wide variety of administrative tasks including processing donor payments, preparing tax receipts, distributing gifts or rewards to donors, and mailing acknowledgment letters to donors and donation recipients.
Thus, conventional methods of collecting charitable donations and the attendant administrative tasks are often expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive, often reducing the net value of the received donation. In fact, many charities have found themselves in the unfortunate position of having to justify the reasons for having to spend substantial portion of moneys collected on administrative costs.
Accordingly, conventional approaches to the collection of charitable donations, distribution of gifts or rewards to donors, and attendant administrative tasks are economically inefficient, which is a disservice to charitable organizations and the people who depend on them for aid. Thus, there is a need for improvements in the collection of charitable donations and associated administrative tasks and also a means to facilitate and encourage charitable giving and charitable distribution.