There are lots of browser toolbars available that users can employ to search the Web and donate money to their favorite charities at the same time. So why should you use this one? Because it pays researchers. Really. 
BenchFly's new toolbar raises a small amount of money each time you search the Internet. That money will be collected and distributed as microgrants to researchers. A little money to pay for supplies or software is always welcome in any lab, and these grants should provide just enough money for such expenses. In the true spirit of "peer review", awardees of the grants will be decided by vote at BenchFly's Facebook page.
You can download the toolbar for Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox at the BenchFly site. Watch the video about the toolbar on the BenchFly homepage, too; it's cheesy yet amusing. If this microgrant experiment is successful, BenchFly may continue the practice in the future.
Pamela Shaw
Biosciences Librarian
E-mail me by using the "E-mail Pam" link on my liaison page.
The Biosciences & Bioinformatics Blog highlights new tools and news items of interest to the biosciences research community at Northwestern University.
