Ex-Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer Launches Philanthropy-Focused Startup

Tripadvisor co-founder Steve Kaufer, who stepped down as CEO last year after 22 years at the helm, has just unveiled his next big venture.

Kaufer announced on Thursday that he's launching Give Freely, a startup that aims to attract more funding for charities. Give Freely, a web browser extension that consumers can add to their Chrome or Safari app, enables users to make donations to a charity when they shop online.

The extension can be used at 10,000 online stores, a number that Kaufer hopes to expand. Users can then choose from more than 1 million charities to direct donations.

"We want to build a movement. We're looking at the ability to help users in the U.S. and frankly all over the world save money while they're shopping. That's a clear value proposition for everyone," Kaufer said, adding Give Freely is similar to Amazon's discontinued AmazonSmile program that let consumers direct commissions to charities.

"And at the same time, whenever they are buying something, a donation is going to a cause they care about."

While Kaufer said he doesn't expect Give Freely to become as large as Tripadvisor, he's hopeful the startup can change lives.

"If Give Freely can end up being used by 500 million users, that would be a fabulous impact on the world," he said. "That would be billions of dollars a year going to charity, and I would be super proud of being able to help make that happen."

UPDATE: The article has been updated to include an additional quote from Steve Kaufer.