How to Donate to Charity without spending a dime

When we donate to a charity, we help provide for others in need and in return get the satisfaction that comes from giving. Most people think that the only way to contribute to your community is by giving money to a charity. You want to help feed starving children in Africa or build a school in Indonesia, but where’s the money? It really isn’t difficult. Many people aren’t aware that a contribution can go beyond a monetary donation.

Here are a few ways of donating to a charity without opening your wallet:

Click and Donate: There are websites which have games for you to play online. With every click, you make a small donation to some charity. One such site is freerice.com which contributes rice to the United Nations World Food Program for every correct answer you score on the quiz.
Donate your car: Donating to charity is a relatively trouble-free way to get rid of a car when you doubt that you will get much in return. Find a registered charity that can lawfully accept your donation of a car without charging a large removal fee. Donating a car to a charity allows you to deduct its fair market value from your taxable income.
Hold a garage sale: What better way of disposing off the old stuff piled up in your attic and garage than holding a garage sale? Donate the proceeds to your favorite charity!
Be a smart Shopper: Companies often support causes and publicize that they do so. When you buy their products part of the proceeds from the sale goes towards the charities they support. Read the labels before you buy a product.
Volunteer time: Take time off to volunteer your services in the local soup-kitchen or read to children in a home. Spending time with the needy is more valuable than spending money.
Donate your organs and blood: Organ donation is one way of ensuring your memory lives on long after you are gone. Even when you’re alive, blood donation can help save lives. Donation of a rare blood type is more valuable than the donation of a large sum of money.
Donate old books: Donating old books that your children have outgrown or paperbacks and magazines that you no longer read. A library or a hospital is usually a happy recipient of your old treasured books.
Walk for a Cause: Participate in a walk-a-thon or a marathon where the sponsors add money on your behalf to a charity.
Donate your old computer: When you buy or upgrade to a new computer, donate your older, used computer to a non-profit organization or a charity. A used computer can be efficiently reused by the charity and is one of the most environmentally responsible ways to deal with your old equipment.
Partner with an NGO: Start a fund-raising campaign for your favorite NGO that does exceptional work for a cause you support. Use your skills and talents to raise funds. Schools in Canada have partnered with schools built in Indonesia by Mustard Seed Canada. Funds raised by children of the Canadian schools helped build wells for village schools in Indonesia changing the life of the villages there.

Some smaller charities like Mustard Seed Canada welcome volunteers and other ways you can partner with them without a monetary donation. Feel free to contact them to find out how you can best help! So you really don’t need to be a celebrity or have tons of money to make a difference. Just the desire and the determination is enough and ideas will follow!

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