After developing an online savings tool that has attracted more than $600 million in deposits in less than three years, SmartyPig LLC now plans to apply the same social-media-based savings model to nonprofit organizations.

The West Des Moines-based company unveiled its new product, PhilanthroPig, during the Finovate Fall 2010 technology forum last week in New York City.

PhilanthroPig’s first nonprofit user will be the University of Texas at Austin, which will use the online product for a fund-raising campaign that begins next month. The university’s campaign will serve as a beta test for PhilanthroPig before SmartyPig launches it on a full-scale basis in January.

“The University of Texas actually approached us about using SmartyPig,” said Bob Weinschenk, SmartyPig’s CEO. “Their challenge was, how do you get 18-year-olds to start giving to the university, so they continue to do that and really develop that relationship?”

Using PhilanthroPig, individuals will be able to assist an organization’s fund-raising efforts by not only giving personally, but also using their social media networks to ask others to contribute.

PhilanthroPig will charge participating nonprofits a 4 percent fee on each donation, but will not impose any setup or monthly fees for establishing a fund-raising site. Deposits are held by BBVA Compass, a Birmingham, Ala.-based bank.

Founded in April 2008 by Jon Gaskell and Mike Ferrari, SmartyPig now has 26 employees in West Des Moines, among them Weinschenk, who commutes from Austin, Texas. SmartyPig’s founders hired Weinschenk, a serial entrepreneur who has created four start-up companies in the past decade, a year ago.

Based on feedback from large national charities interested in PhilanthroPig, “I believe it will grow at least as fast as SmartyPig has,” Weinschenk said. On the horizon, he said, is a similar product for political fund raising.