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Queries performed through the Live Search program operated by Microsoft generated over $250,000 for local schools and non-profits, and the company hopes to see even greater returns this year.

A nice side of the search industry arrived with the charitable works that sites could enable. In connection with their query activity, users of sites like GoodSearch and Microsoft's Search and Give provide donations in exchange for queries made through those sites.

Microsoft announced some updates to Search and Give, in the wake of its ongoing program success. Search and Give provides one cent per query per month by a registered user, up to 500 searches in a month.

Donations may be dedicated to more than 100,000 schools and 900,000 non-profit organizations, Microsoft said. Their new updates to the program included a tweaked user interface to make finding organizations easier.

The real benefit comes when groups of people work together for a given cause. One person doing the maximum number of monthly searches generates $60 in a year. Add a couple dozen more people doing the same level of activity, and the money goes up to $1,500.

We asked Microsoft for a point of difference between Search and Give, and similar efforts by other sites. A company spokesperson noted the larger database of charitable destinations Microsoft offers, and that the cash donations come directly from Microsoft rather than being ad revenue-dependent.

Our look at the sign-up process found it worked as advertised in finding a local school to connect with for Search and Give donations. The program looks like a nice way to benefit a favored cause.