• BusinessWeek, Wednesday, July 23, 2008 11 AM

Is the black tie benefit becoming a thing of the past? Rather than spend the money on the room, the invites and the entertainment, many charities are taking their big-ticket auctions online, where they can raise their money faster and with hardly any overhead.

Online charity auctions have raised at least $250 million, according to figures provided by the largest sites, including eBay, which runs a program called Giving Works. The auction site has raised $150 million for charity since 1999. Of that total, $50 million was raised in the last year alone.

"It changed our lives," says Cynthia Thomashow, executive director of the New Hampshire Center for Environmental Education, a group that provides environmental educational tools to schools. "It's a quick and efficient way to raise an operating budget."

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