Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced that it is kicking off Cyber Giving Week on December 25, 2005, in recognition of the significant growth in online charitable donations as well as the trend of year-end spikes in giving. In partnership with Network For Good, the Internet's leading charitable resource, Yahoo! is launching a Cyber Giving Week microsite (http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/) that provides donation links to a variety of charities as well as resources and tools for making decisions about contributions and maximizing annual tax breaks.

Recent data indicate that online donations have increased dramatically year-over-year, with contributions reaching annual highs during the last days of the year. According to The Kintera/Luth Nonprofit Trend Report (June 2005), U.S. households donated more than $3 billion online in 2004, representing an estimated increase of nearly 60 percent over online giving in 2003. The same study finds that the Internet played a role in influencing more than 65% of donors before making a donation. In addition, data from non-profit organizations over the past several years indicate up to 40 percent of giving occurs during the month of December, with the final days accounting for the heaviest donations.*

The microsite provides a number of resources that can help users choose and evaluate charities, determine how much to donate based on tax-deduction thresholds, understand current tax breaks and find coverage from Yahoo! News and around the Web on the latest philanthropy and volunteer issues. Yahoo! will promote Cyber Giving Week from December 25th through December 31st throughout the Yahoo! network, including its homepage, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Education, Yahoo! Messenger, broadband portal pages for SBC Yahoo! and Verizon Yahoo! , and keyword integration in Yahoo! Search. Donations will be facilitated by Network For Good, which will allow users to contribute to ten pre-selected charities as well as search for charities in their local communities.

"At a time when the Internet is playing an increasingly vital role in facilitating charitable contributions, we want to make it as simple as possible for our users to donate to their favorite charities," said Meg Garlinghouse, director of Yahoo! for Good, the company's community relations program that connects users with products and services that inspire them to make a positive impact. "The Internet facilitates a real-time sense of gratification and also allows people to quickly and efficiently maximize their annual tax breaks in this last week of eligibility. We're proud to offer resources and access to charities to make giving even easier during this crucial period."

"This year represented a record year on our own network for charitable giving," added Garlinghouse. "Yahoo! users contributed more then $55 million in support of Hurricane Katrina alone. However, we know that our users are passionate about causes and hope they'll take Cyber Giving Week as inspiration to do even more good."

* Source: Network For Good, 2004

Since its inception in 2001, Network for Good, which allows users to research and contribute to more than one million charities, has been witness to the growing trend in online charitable donation.

"More and more people are doing their giving with a few clicks of a mouse rather than writing and mailing checks because it's faster, easier and more cost effective for the charities they support. That's especially true in December, when people make most of their donations," said Bill Strathmann, CEO of Network for Good. "This December, we're seeing the online giving trend on a remarkable scale with double last year's contributions, despite the fact that people already gave so much online for disaster relief this year. We applaud Yahoo! for helping to encourage this outpouring of online giving and ensuring more resources get to many charities that need our help more than ever."

Yahoo!'s Cyber Giving Week program spotlights a broad selection of philanthropies, spanning the spectrum from global outreach to local impact. The organizations include Habitat for Humanity, DonorsChoose, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Mr. Holland's Opus, Fisher House, Save the Children, Humane Society of the United States, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund.

Yahoo!'s in-kind advertising donation for Cyber Giving Week is valued at more than $2 million, which includes promotion on its home page, the most trafficked site on the Web, on both December 25th and December 30th. Cyber Giving Week ends on December 31, 2005.

About Network for Good
Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org) is the Internet's leading charitable resource, an easy-to-use, secure website that includes detailed listings of more than one million U.S. charities and a searchable database of more than 34,000 volunteer opportunities. Network for Good works directly with nonprofits to help them leverage the Internet as a tool for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. Founded in 2001 by AOL, Cisco Systems and Yahoo!, Network for Good is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

About Yahoo! for Good
Yahoo! for Good is committed to making a difference in the world by empowering our users and employees with products and services that inspire them to make a positive impact. Find more information at http://brand.yahoo.com.

About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! seeks to provide online products and services essential to users' lives, and offers a full range of tools and marketing solutions for businesses to connect with Internet users around the world. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc.
All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Yahoo!

Yahoo!

Yahoo! attracts hundreds of millions of users every month through its innovative technology and engaging content and services, making it one of the most visited Internet destinations and a world-class online media company. Yahoo!'s vision is to be the center of people's online lives by delivering personally relevant, meaningful Internet experiences. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.net or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

More from Yahoo!