USPTO Patent Grant: Location-based charitable donation system

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Business Methods (G06Q)

Published March 24th, 2026

Detected March 25th, 2026

Summary

The USPTO has granted patent US12586120B2 for a location-based system designed to facilitate charitable donations. The system allows donors to identify and purchase specific essential items requested by individuals in need within their community while shopping at local retailers or online.

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What changed

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent US12586120B2 to ELP GLOBAL LLC for a location-based system that streamlines charitable donations. The patented technology enables donors to identify individuals in need within their community and purchase exact essential items requested by those individuals while shopping at a retailer. The system can leverage a donor's device location to identify nearby retailers and can also generate hybrid webpages for e-commerce platforms, integrating online shopping with requested donation items. Additionally, it incorporates a network-connected locker system for donating used goods.

This patent grant does not impose new regulatory obligations on businesses. However, it signifies a technological innovation in the charitable giving sector that may influence how companies develop or integrate donation functionalities into their retail or e-commerce platforms. Companies operating in the retail, e-commerce, or charitable technology spaces should be aware of this patented system, as it could impact future product development or partnership opportunities.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Grants

Location-based system for charitable donation

Grant US12586120B2 Kind: B2 Mar 24, 2026

Assignee

ELP GLOBAL LLC

Inventors

Eric Lichtmess

Abstract

A location-based system that provides functionality for a donor to identify a person in need of essential items in their community and purchase and donate the exact essential items requested by the person in need while the donor is shopping at a retailer that sells those exact essential items. In some embodiments, the system identifies that the donor is shopping at a retailer based on the location of a donor computing device (e.g., a smartphone). In other embodiments, the system and an e-commerce retailer generate a hybrid webpage that includes both online shopping functionality and products requested by a person in need in the donor's community that can be added to the donor's online shopping cart and sent to the person in need. In other embodiments, the system uses a network-connected locker system to enable donors to donate used goods (e.g., clothing) specifically requested by a person in need.