donation

18 Free Ways to Be a Better Person

Ashley Eneriz — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 09:00:10 +0000

With a crazy schedule and tight budget, giving back is usually easier said than done. However, what if making a difference someone else's life didn't have to be that complicated, time-consuming, or costly? These 18 acts will help you become a better person, and help your community.

1. Bring in your neighbor's trash cans

Sometimes it's the simplest acts of kindness that can make a huge difference. If you're already bringing in your own trash can, then rolling in your neighbor's will just take a few extra minutes. You can also help neighbors along your block who are elderly or have disabilities that make tasks like moving the trash cans a chore. (See also: 12 Easy Ways to Win Over Your Neighbors)

2. Pick up trash at a local park

Have you ever looked around your city or local park and thought it looked a bit dirty? Where I live, the amount of wind we receive makes it nearly impossible to be a trash-free community. Simply picking up a few pieces of litter at your park or anywhere else can instantly improve the appearance of your town.

To get involved on a larger scale, research your city's website for annual trash pickup days.

3. Volunteer at a school or library

Ask your local schools and libraries about volunteer opportunities. Many need readers for story time, especially on fun days like Dr. Seuss's birthday (March 2).

You can also volunteer your time as a tutor. And you don't need to be a 4.0 GPA rock star to help kids with homework after school. It also doesn't need to take up every moment of your free time, either. Just a couple hours per month can make a world of difference. United Way and VolunteerMatch are sites that can connect you to tutoring opportunities and other volunteer gigs near you.

4. Write a nice note

Your encouraging words can mean more than you know. Send some to people you don't talk to regularly, such as old friends and distant family members. You can also send notes to soldiers thanking them for their service through A Million Thanks or to hospitalized children to remind them that they have love and support all over the world through Cards for Hospitalized Kids.

5. Donate books

We all have one too many books lying around. Donate books that you and your family are done reading to local libraries, schools, or to organizations like Books For Africa and Books to Prisoners.

6. Make and deliver a meal

Know of someone who just had a baby or is recovering from surgery? Bring them a meal. If you can't cook, no worries. Even easy-to-make sandwiches like peanut butter and jelly or turkey with cheese would be welcomed and appreciated by someone who doesn't have the time or energy to prepare meals for themselves.

7. Send old tech gadgets to soldiers

Your old cellphone or iPad aren't worth that much anymore, but you can still donate them to individuals who will get great use out of them. Cellphones for Soldiers accepts older phones, smartphones, and tablets and gives them to service members as a way to connect with family members while serving.

8. Donate Blood

Most healthy individuals are qualified to donate blood. Hospitals always need more blood, and your blood donation can save a life. Find a local blood drive near you through the American Red Cross.

9. Offer free baby-sitting

If you know a couple with a kiddo or two who could use a night out on the town, offer to watch the kids for them. This way, the parents will get some much needed alone time, and won't have to pay anyone to watch the kids.

10. Donate nonperishable food to shelters

Take a look in your pantry. Is it overflowing with canned or boxed foods you know you won't eat? Pass the unused, unexpired, non-perishables to someone who will. Put your ZIP code in Feeding America to locate your nearest food bank.

11. Play with pets

Contact your local animal shelter to donate your time caring for animals. Some areas need help with cleaning, while others just need help socializing potential pets. Start by calling your nearest shelter or by visiting the Animal Humane Society for nearby opportunities. Plus, you're never going to regret spending a few hours playing with dogs and cats.

If you have a child who needs to practice their reading skills, your child could read to pets who haven't yet been adopted as a way to provide them comfort before their forever family takes them home.

12. Donate blankets and towels to animal shelters

If you don't have time to play with pups and kittens, you can still help out through donating old blankets and towels. Animal shelter staffers are constantly cleaning up after animals in their care, and also trying to keep them as comfortable as possible. Old towels and blankets are an ongoing necessity for them.

13. Serve food at a soup kitchen

Many individuals will volunteer time to pass out food during the holidays, but soup kitchens and food banks need help year-round. This is a great way to give back to your community alongside your friends and family, and usually the time commitment is minimal. Get everyone you love together and lend a helping hand.

14. Donate gift cards

Is your wallet full of gift cards with weird value amounts on it or with gift cards to stores or restaurants you would never visit? With CharityChoice, you can donate your gift cards and store credit to over 1,000 charities. (See also: How to Use Up Remaining Balances on Prepaid Gift Cards)

15. Donate your miles

Like gift cards, sometimes you end up with unused air miles that aren't enough to cash in for travel or items. Instead of trading your miles for a subscription to a magazine you won't read, donate them to a worthy cause. For example, United members can donate their miles to Hero Miles which gifts airline tickets to wounded, injured, or sick military members to see their family. (See also: 6 Ways to Sell or Donate Your Airline Miles)

16. Knit blankets or hats

Put your knitting or crochet skills to use by creating goods for others. Knots of Love accepts homemade hats for chemo patients, and Binky Patrol accepts handmade blankets for those in need.

17. Donate your shoes or eye glasses

Organizations such as Soles4Souls and Give Your Sole give lightly worn shoes a new life by donating them to those in need.

Don't trash your old eye glasses, either. Donate them to Lions Clubs, an organization that cleans and sorts used glasses by prescription strength to donate to low- and middle-income communities.

18. Shop through AmazonSmile

Now your Prime orders can benefit your favorite charity. Every time you shop through AmazonSmile, a portion of your purchase will go to the charity you select. You can even see how much you donate over time to your charity through regular shopping and how much your charity receives overall. Your organization of choice gets rewarded for you buying something you were already going to purchase online. (See also: 7 Amazon Prime Perks You've Forgotten to Use.)

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This article is from Ashley Eneriz of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Ask the Readers: Would You Donate to the Government?

Ashley Jacobs — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:36:20 +0000

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Christie, John Mc, and Elizabeth S. for winning this week's contest!

The United States is currently over $14 trillion dollars in debt. After the recent debt-ceiling crisis, almost everyone became painfully aware of how in trouble the United States is financially. But is the severity of the situation enough to cause Americans to pull together to try to alleviate the debt issue by donating to the Bureau of Public Debt?

Would you donate to the government? Do you think that people should donate to help the United States reduce it's debt? Why or why not?

Tell us if you would donate to the government and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — one for random comments, one for random Facebook "Likes", and another one for random tweets.

Mandatory Entry:

Post your answer in the comments below

For extra entries (1 per action):

Go to our Facebook page, "Like" us, and leave a comment telling us you did, or
Tweet your answer. You have to be a follower of our @wisebread account. Include both "@wisebread" and "#WBAsk" in your tweet so we'll see it and count it. Leave a link to your tweet (click the timestamp for the individual URL) in a separate comment.

If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

Giveaway Rules:

Contest ends Monday, August 29th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after August 29th on the original post. Winners will also be contacted via email.
You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered, or associated with Facebook.
You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.

Note: Due to recent changes in Facebook's promotions guidelines, we have restructured the entry format of our giveaways.

Good Luck!

Tell us if you would donate to the government and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

This article is from Ashley Jacobs of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Why You Should Donate a Blood Sucking Timeshare

Xin Lu — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:46:09 +0000

My parents are people who go to timeshare presentations for the free stuff and never fall for the pitch. They have always told me that buying a timeshare at these sales events is a bad idea because of the inflated upfront cost and perpetual maintenance and exchange fees the timeshare companies pile on. It is also quite difficult to sell a timeshare you no longer want because there is usually a giant supply of timeshares on the market. If you do want to get rid of a money sucking timeshare, donating it may be the most economical option.

When you donate your timeshare, you can write off the value of the timeshare on your taxes and get a tax deduction. This detailed FAQ at Donate for a Cause describes the process. It is up to you to decide the fair value of your property and you will be free from that unwanted timeshare without too many worries. You do need to be able to itemize to take advantage of donations and you should check the IRS's rules about non-cash donations. Currently any non-cash donation worth over $5000 need to be verified with a written appraisal.

It is not always true that the tax deduction you receive will be greater than the price you can get for a timeshare on the open market. This really depends on your tax rate and the value of your timeshare, but you definitely save quite a bit of time and energy by just giving the property away. The cost of marketing your timeshare can be quite high because there is so much competition on the market. If you hire a company that helps you list your timeshare, you are usually required to pay a upfront fee that could be quite high. Generally the companies that work for a flat fee do not care how much your timeshare sells for and there are many listings on eBay that are put out by these companies that unload timeshares for as low as a dollar.

Finally, another bonus to donating your unwanted timeshare is that you will be helping someone in need. It is truly a win win situation for everyone involved. The charity gets cash to help people, the buyer of your timeshare gets a discount, and you will no longer have to deal with maintenance fees. If you are not sure where to start, Donate for a Cause is a charity specializing in timeshares and they contribute to a variety of charities. It is also possible that your favorite charities accept timeshares as donations and you can find out by calling or checking out their websites.

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This article is from Xin Lu of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Ask the readers: What charities do you give to?

Troy Hadley — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 19:41:04 +0000

My last post on giving made me think a bit about... well, giving. My train of thought, fortunately, is easy to track.

I give a good deal of money to charity every year, enough so that the monetary amount actually affects my tax returns (in a good way). I was just thinking about all of the places that I give to, and since some people started posting other charities in the last blog post, I thought I'd just out and out ask: who do you give to?

Because I'm really dig critters, be they fuzzy or bald, small or huge, I give to the following organizations on a regular basis:

Rolling Dog Ranch and Sanctuary is a great place and fantastic organization where disabled animals go to live out their days, or even find new homes! Warning! If you like animals, or have a functioning heart, do not visit this site until you are somewhere in which you can wipe away tears. Not that I'm the crying type, no sir. I'm pounding my chest in an aggressive manner as we speak. No, I'm worried about you sissy types who cry easily... especially if you read the story about Spirit ...the ... wonderdog (breaks down sobbing).

The Elephant Sanctuary is well-known, and damn, if elephants just aren't as cool as can be.

The Humane Society of the United States is activist enough for me to feel like they're really DOING something, but without being obnoxious, like PETA. I recently signed their plegde to boycott Canadian seafood until Canada stops clubbing baby seals like it's some kind of freaking hobby.

People

When I feel like helping humans, I give to Kiva.org, Operation Smile, and Doctors Without Borders (Medicins Sans Frontieres).

Who do YOU give to?

(Picture by Jo Philips)

This article is from Troy Hadley of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Giving is Better Than Blogging... or IS it?

Troy Hadley — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 19:22:18 +0000

Giving is better than receiving. I do sincerely believe this, as much as I like receiving. And I do like getting stuff.

You know that old saying about giving a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day... but teach him how to fish, and he'll end up going to cooking school and opening a swanky restaurant downtown that you won't be able to get reservations to, despite the fact that you taught him, in painstaking detail, how to tie flies when he was down and out?

I bring this up because of... livestock. My mom likes to donate to charities that work in Third World countries, and a recent charitable phenomenon is a Goat Gift Pack (or sheep, or cows, pigs, even fowl) for poor families that have no source of income. It's sort of a microfinance concept, that a small loan or donation put towards livelihood, rather than pure survival, is more beneficial to a poor family than, say, a bag of rice. Animals produce milk, which can be consumed and sold for profit. It's something that seems to be very popular right now in the giving world.

I'm a tad skeptical about the price tags, however. For instance, my mom recently paid $300 to a well-known religious organization to give a pair of sheep to a poor family in India. $300? I don't think a pair of sheep cost that much in the U.S., and we should have pricey sheep. I'm wary of just how much money is being skimmed off the top for these organizations. I know that there are lots of administrative costs, but we're talking about a country in which you can get a full, satisfying meal for under a dollar.

I'm not sure how to organize an investigation of whether or not Mom got ripped off, so I'll just caution anyone else who was thinking of paying $300 for livestock to shop around a bit. In my mother's case, she personally corresponds with thsi family, so I think she felt stuck in using her chosen organization to give them help.

By the way, Slate.com ran a good article on the best microfinance organizations to donate to. I found it informative, anyway.

Give without really giving

Link to Give

Greater Good runs several web sites that raise money to combat hunger, disease, and animal abuse. Greater Good is a for-profit company, but they give a portion of their profits to charity. They also started the click-to-give idea a while ago, before Google got involved, in which revenue provided by ad clicks was donated to dedicated charities. The premise is that you can visit any of the Greater Good sites once every 24 hours, and click once on an ad, which usually says something like "Click Here to Feed the Hungry". The revenue generated by that click goes entirely to charity.

I should add that Greater Good has a good price on a pair of goats for Rwandan families, too.

Urban Monk is donating $500 from ad revenue to charity, so I'm linking to him in hopes that he gets all the ad revenue necessary to write that check ASAP. You can also link to him - his preferred method is that you write a blog post as though it were the last blog post EVER - and help give without having to open your wallet. Check out his site whether you want to link to him or not - he's a good guy.

This article is from Troy Hadley of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Free pancakes! At IHOP! On Tuesday!

Andrea Karim — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:44:15 +0000

Mark your calendars! Tuesday, February 20th is National Pancake Day at your local IHOP. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., participating IHOP locations are giving away free buttermilk shortstacks.

That’s right — free! My local IHOP actually had a sign that mentioned all-you-can-eat pancakes, but I can't verify that other locations are going to be doing the same thing.

(I'm sure that some people will like to point out that this proves that there is no such thing as a free lunch: you are asked to provide a donation, of any amount, to the Children’s Miracle Network or other local charities. To be fair, if you are tight on cash, you can give a small amount now and give more later.)

So: a tax-deductible charitable donation = three buttermilk pancakes. I’m not great with the maths, but that adds up just fine to me.

This article is from Andrea Karim of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: