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Last Updated on 2014-11-30 by Kassandra
I’m sharing these “hacks” (as it were) because a lot of times people want to give but don’t know how … Either it’s too hard, or takes too much time, or perhaps they simply don’t know what they can do to make a difference.
“Every little bit helps” … And you’d be amazed at what very little you have to do to make a huge difference!
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Use a Matching Gift Program to Double Your Donations
There’s 2 ways to do this particular “charity hack” … And although it might do the most monetary good immediately, I put this as the lowest on my list because it does take some effort on your part in order to get this to work.
Talk to your employer and find out if they have this option available. This may be the easier option and possibly the better one, as I’m not sure how the site I’m about to provide really works.
The other way is via some online options, but the one I was introduced to only gave donations to one particular place, so I did not feel that sharing the information would be beneficial to the general populace. However, if you’re interested anyway you can click here.
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Donate Your Computer’s Idle Time
I first heard about this type of thing when my ex told me about it — it was something he had on his Playstation 3 and it was super cool! He would just leave it on and it would help unravel information on DNA or something like that … Don’t remember the exact specifics, and after re-reviewing their site it looks like they’re doing a lot more these days.
So whether you use your Playstation, PC, MAC, Linux or even Android … you can use your idle time to help do the following:
— cure diseases
— study global warming
— discover pulsars
— help with other scientific research -
Buy Awareness Branded Items
There are several brands out there who allow for part of the proceeds to go to a good cause … For example:
A) A portion of Product(RED) merchandise goes to help fight AIDS in Africa. For a while now, Apple has been working with this company and has some products that are specifically used for RED … Yet they recently announced that on CyberMonday / World AIDS Day (December 1st) a portion of ALL proceeds (gift cards, accessories, products, etc) will go to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.
B) Susan B Komen Foundation also partners with companies to provide products that support their cause as well — obviously breast cancer awareness.
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GoodSearch
Did you know that every time you search the web you could raise money for a cause of your choice? I didn’t – until today. The searches are powered by Yahoo, and through the sites you go to you can raise up to 30% of your purchases, and up to 6% of your dining at participating partners.
Be sure to click here to find out how they do it.
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Shop At Amazon Smile
I know a lot of people shop using Amazon. I myself have found some pretty awesome things that I was told I would never find by using Amazon. But why not also have part of your purchase automatically go to charity? That’s what AmazonSmile does. So every time you make a purchase, 0.5% will go to a charity of your choice. It may not sound like much, but that’s basically $0.50 for every $100 spent. And that can add up!
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Start Your Shopping at iGive
http://www.igive.com/welcome/lp14/cr59b.cfm
While AmazonSmile may donate 0.5% of it’s ales to a charity of your choosing, this site will allow you on average to be able to donate 3% to a charity of your choosing! And it’s for over 1,500 stores (not just one site)! And something even cooler that I saw on their site is that if you don’t see the charity you want to donate to, you can list it!
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Fund a Micro Loan Through Kiva
This one is higher on my list because it’s closer to my entrepreneurial heart.
Too often, small businesses are unable to get loans from big corporation banks. And these small businesses are the ones that need it the most … And too often the loans they get have too high of an interest that it may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to repay.
Kiva is a ompany that aids small businesses in the developing world. The idea behind Kiva is simple: you’re helping others to help themselves. Just find a business you’d like to help, select a loan amount that you’re comfortable with, and then you’ll start getting updates as things progress. While Kiva doesn’t promise the inflated dollars that we all hear about these days, it sure is a good way to help your fellow entrepreneur and do some good!
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Do a Voluntourism!
What is a voluntourism? It’s basically a vacation where you also volunteer your time.
This one’s not quite “effortless,” but by booking a volunteer vacation both you and the community you visit to lend a helping hand benefit. You can save a ton of money on your travel and have some amazing experiences all while supporting a good cause.
I’m part of a lifestyle and vacation club that has a cornucopia of vacation options to choose from, including specific vacations that are geared for this exact thing! You can find out more about what our nonprofit does by clicking here and if you’re interested in going on these kinds of vacations (or if you simply want to take dream vacations at dream prices and save on everything you do) then you can click here for more information.
But if all of that isn’t for you, then there are other ways to achieve a similar goal. You can learn more by checking out this LifeHack piece on it. (Definitely worth a read!)
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Go for a Run, Walk, or Bike Ride
With all the ways to help raise money for a good cause, one of the ones that is most often seen are the 5Ks where people raise money for every mile they walk, run or bike. But instead of waiting for a scheduled one that may only happen once a year, what if you could do it whenever you went out for your daily walk/run/ride?Apparently you can! It’s as easy as this: get moving. Bikers earn 10¢ a mile and walkers / runners earn 25¢ a mile, up to the site’s initial $1,000,000 sponsorship pool.
.This is an app you can download from the Apple store or Google Play store. So not only are you now inclined to be healthier, you can help the charities of your choice by doing so! -
Directly Donate With Your Phone
I was introduced to a site that would allow you to use your “spare change” from purchases to be directly sent to a charity of your choice … But it looks like the site is closed to new people AND I heard that it incurred other charges from your bank or had issues with credit card companies … So I found something else for you!
I found an app via this post that allows for “a three-tap, easy way for donors to give to any cause from their smartphones. However, there’s much more to it, like donation tracking for users (think taxes) and a web portal for registered nonprofits that allows them to customize their presence on Givelify, track donations and receive donation payouts.”
So click here for more info on this app, check it out for yourself, and when you decide it’s something you want to do, download the app and start donating!
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These are so great I didn’t even know about half of these. This is so helpful. I like how you added things that are requiring money and things that you can do daily in our everyday.
Thanks Tanya! Happy to be of service. Hope you can use one or two of these. I’ll also be making a post soon about ways you can help even if you can’t donate monetarily — so keep an eye out! 😉
Hi Kassandra!
I’d like to post a link to this with your permission on an expat group I belong to. Several of us have been involved with Kiva (#7) and a others have done projects like the Voluntourism (#8).
But there are some new ones that they may like to share, especially at this time of year.
Thanks!
Feel free to share if you like, Jonelle. 🙂 If I can provide further information, just let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
This is awesome!! Alot of this i knew about, but there are some things I didn’t know and it is awesome. Thanks for the ideas…i will definitely incorporate some of things in to our life 😉
Oh good! I’m so glad I could help you find new ways to follow a passion. 🙂