A new search engine may make it easier for students on tight budgets who wish to donate to the Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon.

GoodSearch.com allows students to donate money to Thon or any other nonprofit organization as they search the Web with just a click of a button.

"That's the exciting thing," said Ken Ramberg, president and co-founder of GoodSearch.com. "The concept is that you can give to a variety of charities and schools without having to reach into your own pocket just by searching the Internet -- something that you do every day."

Ramberg said that it's very easy to find a charity.

For example, to donate to Thon, users just type in "Thon" and then choose "Penn State IFC Panhellenic Dance Marathon-THON (University Park, PA)" from the list.

Since its launch in November 2005, GoodSearch.com has raised more than $300 for Thon.

Jaci Christopher, Thon public relations chairwoman, said that because GoodSearch.com is new, not everyone knows about it yet.

"We just kind of used word of mouth, but anyone can do it," she said.

Mike Werstuik, Thon finance chairman, said he is letting Thon participants know about GoodSearch.com.

"We have told all of our captains and Thon chairs, and they are to let their organizations know about it," he said.

Ramberg said a user could also add a charity if it's not listed.

"On the homepage, there's a button that says 'add a new charity,' " he said. "You just enter the information, and we verify that it's legitimate."

Ramberg said Yahoo! powers the free search engine.

"You can search for anything," he said.

Search engines like Yahoo! and Google generate almost $6 billion in revenue each year from advertisements, Ramberg said.

GoodSearch.com uses half of its revenues for operating costs and gives the other half to charity.

"It equates to about a penny per search," he said. "Every time you search in the Yahoo! box, a penny is given to the Penn State dance marathon."

Ramberg said that all of the organizations that raise more than $100 receive a check for the amount raised once a year.

He said that next to Thon, Project Haiti and the Children's Miracle Network at the Penn State Children's Hospital get the most donations from Penn State users.