There seems to be an assumption that the only way that people can help a charitable cause is by donating money. While these organizations are almost always in need of extra cash, there are still ways that you can help without spending any money.
Donate Your Time: While this may seem obviously to a lot of people, many don’t ever consider this option. There are all types of functions that need to be done to keep the charity going and most would love any volunteer help they can get. Simply call the charity and ask if there is something that you can do to help out.
Donate Your Skills: Less obvious to many is that you may be able to donate a skill that you have to the charity. I have a good friend that helps one small charity that he likes help keep their books in order since he is an accountant. I had a friend in college who created art work for free to help campaigns a local charity ran. I have another friend who is a handyman that does all the repairs a local charity needs on their building for no cost. If you have a skill, ask the charity if they could use it.
Donate By Clicking: There are a number of websites that receive money by you simply clicking on a button. When you do, advertisers are displayed and they pay a certain amount for each click. You can find a large list of charities that make money this way at Charity Click Donation
Place The Charity In Your Signature: Place the website address to the charity in the signature of your emails (this will make it show up at the bot om of every email you send out). If you participate in a number of online forums, place a link to the charity in your signature that will show up each time that you post on those forums. Be sure to read the forum rules before doing this as some o not allow it, but this is a great way for others to learn about the charity, especially if you are active and well liked in the community.
Make A Video: If you have a digital movie camera, consider making a video detailing why you like the charity and load it up to a shared video site like youtube where others can see it.
Get A Credit Card: More and more charities are offering branded credit cards. If you use these credit cards, the charity gets a small percentage back on the amount you spend (just like a cash back card, but the cash goes to the charity instead of you). Just make sure to pay off your balance each month.
Create A T-Shirt: if you need a basic T-shirt for working out or other activity, consider making your own that advertises the charity instead of getting a plain T-shirt at your local clothes shop. Sites like cafe press will allow you to create your own T-shirt that can help publicize your favorite charity.
Sell Goods For Charity: If you have old stuff lying around the house, consider selling it on eBay and having the income generated go to the charity of your choice. eBay has a system that allows you to do this called Giving Works. Not only do you help the charity with cash, you can still deduct the amount donated off your taxes.
Donate Food You Get For Free: here are a lot of websites on the Internet that can teach you how to greatly reduce the cost of buying food such as Grocery Coupon Guide. if you follow the steps, what you will find is that sometimes you can get food for free. If it is food that you wouldn’t normally use yourself, still get it for free and donate it to a local charity.
Address Labels: If you give to certain charities, they will send you address labels and other small items to try and get you to donate each year. Instead of purchasing a bunch of address labels for $10 through the Internet, I simply made a $10 donation to one of my favorite charities. This way I’m not spending any more money than I would have been, but the $10 goes to charity rather than to a printing company. Now I get all the address labels I need while giving a donation to the charity.
With a bit of creativity, there are a lot of ways that you can help your favorite charity without spending a lot of money.
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