Have you ever thought about donating to your favorite cause or organization but get discouraged because you don’t have the extra money? We all know bills unfortunately have to be paid and for even the most enthusiastic and well intentioned potential donor, a monetary donation is just not always possible. But there are ways you can donate beyond simply writing a check! Consider some of these alternative ideas…
- Buy One, Get One Free: Aren’t these offers the best when you run across them at stores like Target or your local grocery store? Next time, consider donating the “free” portion of this purchase to a charity. If it’s a food item, your local food bank would be thrilled to take it. If it’s a personal item like shampoo or maybe makeup, charities we’ve previously covered on the blog like The Salvation Army or Orange County based Working Wardrobes would be happy to have the products. Perhaps start a bag of “free” items and when you’ve collected enough, take them to your desired organization. Note: Make sure to keep the products in their factory sealed wrapping.
- Happy Birthday/Anniversary/
Graduation : Do you have a birthday or any other holiday which involves presents coming up? (Ahem…Chrismukkah) This year, consider telling your family and friends to purchase a toy for a child in need or to make a donation in your name to your favorite organization rather than bringing a traditional present. Organizations such as Toys for Tots or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital would love your toy donations, particularly as the holidays draw near.
- Play a Word Game: Sound like an odd idea when we’re talking about charity donations? Well, look no further than FreeRice.com. Free Rice will ask you a series of vocabulary questions. For every correctly answered question, 10 grains of rice will be donated to the World Food Programme. Don’t worry, the vocab isn’t super difficult – they want you to succeed. If you’re a literary minded person, this vocab game can get rather addicting. But the more you play, the more rice that gets donated! Recently, celebrities have been getting in on the action too in a Words with Friends tournament with all proceeds going to charity. Read more about it here.
- Grow Out Your Hair: Do you have long hair and are thinking about getting it cut? If you are able to gather your hair into a ponytail and it measures at least 10 inches from base to tip, then you are ready to donate to Locks of Love. Locks of Love makes hairpieces for underprivileged children suffering from long term hair loss related to medical treatments. Check here for all hair donation guidelines and instructions.
- Extreme Couponing: This idea is somewhat similar to the first “Buy One Get One Free” idea and you don’t have to get too terribly extreme about it. But do you look through your Sunday morning paper for coupons? Are you naturally the type who’s always on the hunt for a good deal? Well, with charity giving in mind, keep your eyes peeled for any coupon offers of free items even if it isn’t a product you’d necessarily use. Start collecting and when you have enough, donate them to your local homeless shelter. For ideas, check out these inspiring videos from a man who collected items for his local food bank or from a lady who who even took the time to sew bags for her kits!
If you can’t donate to charity monetarily, also consider donating your time to your favorite organization. Volunteering is a fantastic and rewarding way to give back without hurting your wallet! If you’re local to Southern California, you can even sign up to volunteer with us by emailing volunteer@ibginc.org!
Can you add to our list? What are some other ways to give to charity without cash donations?
