Business and residential customers of OneChristianVoice pay a flat monthly fee of $6.95 for the first line and no additional charges for extra lines. The per-minute charges vary from 5 cents to 9 cents for in-state or domestic calls. International rates vary greatly depending on the country. For example, calling Italy will cost 6 cents a minute, Japan 8 cents and Argentina 19 cents.

Seventeen cents of every dollar spent on phone calls goes to a variety of secular and nonsecular charities. Jessup expects donations to hit $250,000 a month by the end of the first quarter of 2005. OneChristianVoice is expected to have gross monthly sales of $1.6 million by March 2005.

Jessup won’t disclose how many customers have ordered the service, but he said it is growing exponentially since it became available in December 2003.

Jessup said the company’s users generally fall into two categories: those who are fed up with traditional long distance providers and those who want to help charities.

That second group is part of a growing legion of consumers who are increasingly becoming concerned with a company’s stance on social and moral responsibility issues. Increasing numbers of publicly traded companies are adding social responsibility report cards with the traditional annual report.

Seattle-based Starbucks and Ben & Jerry’s, the maker of premium ice cream, are just two examples of companies that view social concerns as an integral component of the business.

OneChristianVoice benefits 15 charities, including Northwest Medical Teams, the International Evangelism Association, the Great Commission Fund and the Christian Coalition. Jessup said several of the charities ask to remain anonymous to avoid upsetting potential donors who might not appreciate the affiliation with OneChristianVoice.

As a private company, Christian Media does not release how much it donates to charities. But Jessup encouraged customers to check with charities listed on the company’s Web site at [ >>> ] to confirm that OneChristianVoice donates money to the organizations.

Jessup founded Christian Media 21/2 years ago after selling a technology business that dealt with the telecom industry. He soured on what seemed like an endless parade of stories about CEOs bilking their companies out of millions of dollars.

He was convinced that he could form a business where profits and social responsibility worked in tandem. He spent much of the first year getting the company licensed with utility commissions in 48 states.

Northwest Medical Teams, the Portland-based charity that provides medical help all over the world, is one of the charities OneChristianVoice assists.

Bill Miller, vice president of marketing at Northwest Medical Teams, said the financial help from Jessup’s company is small now, but could easily grow as more people switch to the long-distance service.

Miller said the partnership has reaped other benefits that come from getting the medical organization’s name on local airwaves as part of OneChristianVoice’s television advertising campaign.

«They’ve helped send our people across the world,» Miller said.

OneChristianVoice’s marketing efforts, however, are minimal.

Jessup said much of the company’s growth comes from customers spreading the word. He said frequent reviews of new customers will find the same name pop up in various states, a sure sign that a family has heard of OneChristianVoice and dumped their old long-distance provider.

Jonathan Nelson covers retail, banking and the Port of Vancouver for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360–759–8013 or via e-mail at jonathan.nelson@columbian.com.