Gifts With An Impact

I love receiving a gift that has an extended reach and makes an impact in our communities. I've noticed this year in particular that more people have been posting gift ideas that benefit charity and was thrilled to see that more folks are looking to extend the impact of their giving.

Many artists and crafters have chosen to partner with charities by allowing a portion of the sale proceeds to benefit the organizations. It's always interesting to me to see which charities they choose. Not only does the charity benefit monetarily, but the additional exposure is tremendously beneficial to them.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that one of my cherished Christmas gifts benefits a worthy cause. My beautiful little Santa figurine created by folk artist, Jim Shore, supports The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's efforts of preservation, research, and educational programs for the world's largest living history museum in Williamsburg, VA. I'll be delighted to pull out that figurine every year and be reminded of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's fine efforts.

There are thousands of opportunities to purchase a gift that benefits a charitable organization. I follow a wonderful organization on facebook called Made By Survivors that fights human trafficking and slavery. Their beautiful fair trade jewelry items, handbags and gifts are made by survivors of slavery at shelters around the world, offering them sustainable income, dignity and a bright future.

For a fun and unique shopping experience, check out Breadpig.com. The mission of this clever establishment is to "help make the world suck less by selling you the geeky things you love and giving all the profits to good causes." Carrying t-shirts, books, posters and more, proceeds benefit organizations such as Mercy Corps, SPCA, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Nature Conservancy and smaller literacy, housing and cancer organizations.

Another unique organization is called Baking for Good. They sell "irresistible cookie gifts" that benefit the charity of your choice.

Of course, the World Wildlife Fund has all those cute little stuffed animals that you can adopt and give as gifts. Through Heifer International you can give the gift of chicks, goats, sheep and the like to families in struggling countries. And, St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital has lots of unique gifts for kids.

Selecting an item that benefits a worthy cause shows a heightened level of thoughtfulness and compassion. Your recipient is sure to be pleased with the gift and the charity selected will undoubtedly be grateful for the support.

Happy 2012 giving!
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Addendum: Right after I posted this, I received a tip from The Hunger Site about fair trade gifts.  You can also link to stores benefiting breast cancer, animals, veterans, autism, child health, literacy and the rain forest!  Cute stuff, too!

Donate Without Spending a Dime

Stick to your budget and still support great organizations all over the world. In fact, these suggestions don't require a dime... just a little time and coordination!

"Click to Give" websites use advertising money to fund charities. Through GreaterGood.com, you can choose your favorite: hunger, breast cancer, child health, animal rescue, rainforest or literacy! Just a click a day will support some very worthy causes!

If you want something a little more challenging, try FreeRice.com. Simply answer trivia or vocabulary questions. For every answer you get right, sponsors donate 10 grains of rice to the World Food Programme. Learn art, history, math or a foreign language!

How about donating to your favorite cause while surfing the web? GoodSearch.com and iGive.com will donate every time you use their search engine. Select your charity and browse away!

Have furniture or clothing to donate, but no time to drive to the nearest thrift store or church? Call for a pickup from Vietnam Veterans of America. Log on, schedule time and leave your items by the street. Now that's convenient!

New Eyes for the Needy will take your old eyeglasses and redistribute them to poor children and adults in the US and in developing nations worldwide.

What to do with all those old cell phones? Donate them to a good cause, of course, and there are plenty out there. Two national organizations make it easy: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Cell Phones for Soldiers.

Tired of making hair appointments? Take a hiatus for a good cause. Grow your hair and give to Locks of Love, an organization that provides wigs to kids with cancer and other medical long-term hair loss.

If you're not squeamish about needles, donate blood through the American Red Cross. Only 3 out of 100 Americans donate blood and the need is tremendous.

Hop on board and help make a difference!

Small Gifts from Many Make a Huge Difference

In a world filled with dire need and tens of thousands of charitable organizations out there to help, making a decision of which one to support can be overwhelming. Even though I work for a local charity, deciding who to help and when is a daunting task. So daunting, in fact, that most of the time, our family just didn't give at all.

I recently picked up a book called "Give A Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World" by Wendy Smith. I was relieved to discover that I wasn 't the only one who had the heart to help but didn't feel that my small contributions would make a real difference.

Wendy has a wonderful way of breaking down the numbers of us so called "small donors." Remember the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004? Of the $6.2 billion in world-wide aid, individual US citizens contributed a shocking $2.78 billion... and the median donation was $50.00.

Ever heard of the March of Dimes? In 1938, President Roosevelt, a polio victim, called for the public to send just one dime to the White House to help fight polio, which affected tens of thousands of children at the time. In the first year, $238,000 in dimes were sent by ordinary citizens. The dimes continued to arrive over the years as cases of polio decreased until the disease was eradicated in 1979. The March of Dimes now focuses on the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality.

Wendy gives more examples of collective giving - inspirational stories that will bring tears to your eyes. It was this book that gave me the idea for our 12 Charities of Christmas Project. Setting up a structured giving program where we choose only one or two charities each month eases the overwhelming feeling of who to support and when. It also keeps the conversation going throughout the year of new organizations that come to our attention and which ones we feel strongly about.

In addition, supporting a charity does not always have to be monetary. As we were packing up some of my daughters outgrown clothes today, she said "We can give these to Goodwill - that's supporting a charity, too!" There are volunteer opportunities at lots of worthwhile organizations and other non-traditional ways of giving such as using GoodSearch.com (you search, they give), GoodShop.com (you shop, they give), eBay Giving Works (shop or sell to benefit charity), donating Lowe's Foods Greenpoints or Food Lion's Shop and Share Program (register your MVP card and they donate a portion of your grocery bill to your favorite charity.)

We don't all have to be the next Bill and Melinda Gates - in fact, it's us little guys in major numbers that make the real difference!

"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has." ~Margaret Mead

(Thanks again to Wendy Smith for all her amazing reasearch in for the book "Give A Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World". I highly recommend it to everyone with an interest in charitable giving!)