A Washington organization that links local businesses and charities has launched a giving Web site designed to extend the traditional workplace giving period and give employees more control over their donations, The Washington Post writes.

Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington allows workers at participating firms to view financial and volunteering needs at and donate to nonprofit groups with budgets of $3-million or less. Leaders of the effort say the site encourages workplace giving year round rather than focusing it in holiday-season drives.

“We’ve all known how it is with workplace giving campaigns where you don’t really know where your money is going,” said Thomas Raffa, a Catalogue for Philanthropy board member. “Now people want to know. And they have control over that with this site.”

Such regional online giving campaigns have increasingly offered local groups a new revenue stream as the downturn took its toll on government support and corporate philanthropy, The Post says.