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While we've talked about how you can help charities in the past, today we're sharing three super easy ways to donate to charity that only take a few minutes — or a few minutes to set up and than zero time after that! These strategies make giving to charity simpler than ever, whether you prefer to contribute money or make in-kind donations, and whether you like to give to local, national, and/or international organizations.
How do you donate to charity? Do you give regularly?
Order items from charities' online wish lists
More and more nonprofits are creating Amazon wish lists (or wish lists at other retailers, such as Walmart's Walmart Rise) rather than simply sharing lists of needed items on their websites. It doesn't get much easier than turning a few clicks into an in-kind donation. Check your favorite charity's website to see if there's a link to a shoppable wish list, and if you don't see one, shoot them an email to ask.
If you don't feel too strongly about your choice of charity, check out AmazonSmile Charity Lists (which I only just discovered while writing this post!). You can find Amazon wish lists for organizations in the following categories: Pets & Animals, Environment, International, Arts & Culture, Faith & Spiritual, Human Services, Education & Youth, Health, and Veteran. (You can also use the search box on the charity list page to find any keywords you like, e.g., “museum.”)
I chose Arts & Culture at random and found more than 1,000 lists to contribute to — from organizations that range from the New Orleans Musicians' Assistance Foundation to the Japanese Cultural And Community Center Of Northern California to Roanoke Children's Theatre in Virginia. (Note: You'll find that some Charity Lists are currently empty.)
{related: which charities do you give to, and why?}
Set up repeating deliveries of a charity's ongoing needs
This quick and easy charitable giving method can work even if your favorite organization doesn't have an Amazon wish list or other shoppable wish list. I'd say this works best for an org that needs specific products to constantly be replenished, such as food banks, soup kitchens, animal shelters, and organizations that provide free school supplies.
Here's an example: My husband and I have Amazon Prime, so we set up a Subscribe & Save order for a pack of 12 boxes of pasta that a local food bank has on their wish list. The monthly order is $18 — a small enough amount to make it a “set it and forget it” sort of thing. (Amazon tells me that we've been doing this for 13 months so far.) If you want to buy multiples of a particular item, you can cut down on packaging by choosing something that's sold in bulk.
Once you've set up the recurring order, you're done, indefinitely (unless the agency's needs change, of course). Nothing to drop off, no further decisions or transactions to (consciously) make. Each month, I get an email confirming that a shipment is coming up (you can cancel if you like), and I also receive delivery confirmations.
{related: open thread: charitable giving}
Donate to more than one charity with a single online payment
The nonprofit evaluator Charity Navigator not only makes it easy to research charities (e.g., their list of 4-star charities is helpful) but also makes it simple to donate. The My Charities feature lets you build your own list of favorite organizations — just click “Add to My Charities” after you find an org in their database. Once you have a list, you can add your own notes for each charity, create groups of selected charities (whatever you like, e.g., “local” vs. “national”) and easily compare ratings. Right from your list, you can donate to any of the charities you want, and if you want to donate to more than one at the same time, just add them to your “Giving Basket” and use a single checkout process for the individual contributions!
Bonus: If you prefer to give anonymously (to avoid getting placed on mailing lists, etc.), you can do that through Charity Navigator, too.
{related: under pressure: charitable giving at the office}
P.S. More topically, here are some worthy charities to consider supporting right now:
- Russia-Ukraine war: Voices of Children, UN Refugee Agency, CARE's Ukraine Crisis Fund
- Reproductive rights: National Network of Abortion Funds, Aid Access, Keep Our Clinics campaign
What are your favorite easy ways to donate to charity? How often do you donate to charity?
Stock photo via Stencil.
Anon
I work for a charity. I don’t give a lot of money but I give all my time and energy. :)
If I had any advice, if you want your money to directly reach people in need then give directly to charities and not through Amazon or at the cash register at the grocery store or whatever.
Anonymous
Every time I am asked to donate at a store or gas station or fast food shop, I remember that I heard somewhere the organization has already made their donation, and my contribution is reimbursement. I am not sure how true that is (I would love to know!) but it definitely swayed me to direct donations!
KatieJ
I work for a nonprofit and never give at the register. The corporation is taking your tax deduction and making you feel good about it. There’s nothing WRONG with it, but it’s not them being altruistic – at all. As noted above, the best way to give is directly to your favorite charity. Preferably monthly. We love monthly donors. $25/month goes a long way in our world.
Anon
I do use smile.amazon.com though since it doesn’t cost anything to do so. I can see for myself it’s not much though.
Anonymous
+1 to all this.
Financial Planning Rates
Can I ask how much you pay for investment advisers? The proposed rate from someone who comes high highly recommended is: 1.00% for zero to $1M of assets under management; .80% from $1 to $5 MM; .60% from 5 to 10; .40% from 10 to 15, and negotiatble above that. We are in the 1.00% category.
Looked for flat fee person; was unable to find, so hoping to compare rates for assets under management. Services do include comprehensive financial planning. Advice welcome!
Another anon
Not quite what you asked, but for that amount to invest I’ve been very happy with Vanguard Personal Advisor Services (fee = 0.3% AUM). I have had the same advisor for several years and we talk twice a year, more if needed. He has been very on top of reallocating assets as the market swings, doing tax loss harvesting, etc.
Perhaps you can get a comprehensive financial plan for a one-time fee elsewhere? Then you could use one of the less expensive online services for the management over time.
amberwitch
Someone crowdsourced language to describe women and others not identifying as women in an inclusive manner.
Wonder if it was for this: https://jezebel.com/jewish-leaders-banning-abortion-is-absolutely-a-violat-1848885645
If it was – good work:-). If not, still interesting to read.
Anom
Makes me proud to be a liberal Jew.
Anon
This is one of the things that frustrates me so much about the decision. The idea that life begins at conception and a fetus is a person is a uniquely Christian viewpoint. I’m Jewish and abortion is permissible and in some circumstances mandatory in my religion. I have absolutely no issues with devout Christians believing abortion is immoral and choosing not to get one. But I don’t understand why five devout Christians get to impose their religious framework on an entire country that is ostensibly a country with separation of church and state.
Anonymous
If you haven’t done so, I highly recommend doing any Amazon shopping through smile.amazon.com. It literally has no difference on your shopping (same product, same price and same speed) but puts money toward your designated charity. That little bit from me when combined with that of others who support the dog rescue group I belong to helps make a difference. It’s such a completely painless way to support.
Anon
I commented above before I saw your comment. I’m glad I got into this habit. I have an international charity chosen, but I can see how it might make a bigger difference to a local charity.
Anon
It’s interesting that so much of the article focuses on in-kind donations. Many companies have some sort of donation matching, so setting up an ongoing payroll deduction to the charity of your choice with an employer match would 100% be the way to go in my mind.
Anon
I’ve been involved with non-profits for years as a volunteer and as an employee. One thing I encourage is to give *unrestricted* funds. I know people love to give “for the children” or to specific projects, but the organization must then spend the funds on that specific project. It can’t do much if it can’t pay the electric bill, for example.