How To Be Charitable on a Budget

We can all kinda accept that being charitable is a good thing right? (For naysayers: you’re free to camp out in the comments.) That being said, it’s hard for most of us to donate. Why? Cause most of us aren’t made of money, to be honest.

That doesn’t mean we can’t still chip in though! Let’s remember that donations don’t HAVE to be involve you making it rain on your favorite nonprofit. Don’t believe me? Here are 5 tips to prove we can all still find a way to be charitable even though we’re broke.

01. Donate Your Time

Time is as important as money when it comes to operating a nonprofit. Most charities are not only on a tight budget, but also understaffed.

I know we’re all busy, but as I mentioned in a previous post, if we added the amount of time we spent scrolling on our favorite social media networks or netflixing and chilling, we might actually have a pretty sizable amount of time to do something productive.

No shade to social media and netflix! I’m as much a fan as you are (don’t deny it), but didn’t your mamma ever tell you that life is about balance? Give up SOME of your scrolling/netflixing time, and add that to volunteering at whatever charity/nonprofit you want.

And in case you feel like you haven’t found your cause just yet, try to remember that you don’t have to be a warrior for one single issue. Cause to be honest, people and the planet have a lot of issues on our plate right now.

Where To Go

Any Local Nonprofit Nuff said.

02. Get Rid of Your Old Shit

Although we may not like to admit it, most of us appear to enjoy shopping and accumulating unneeded belongings.

But what are we to do with all of the junk we bought but don’t really need, and maybe don’t really want? Or maybe you’ve just held onto everything you’ve ever purchased or that’s been given to you, so you need to purge the things you don’t use anymore.

You guys, charities take ALL KINDS of donations. Clothes are a popular one of course (and for good reason), but you can get rid of almost any type thing you don’t want anymore.

Got old tech like TV’s, computers, or phones? How about kids toys or anything that could be used to shame you from your awkward teenage years? Or miscellaneous junk like DVDs and CDs that you haven’t used cause who even buys CDs and DVDs anymore? Donate my friends!

Where To Go

Also Any Local Nonprofit

Pawn Shops Pawn shops of the local variety are also a good way to get rid of your stuff. Not only are you saving money, you’re also making a bit of money in return.

03. Donate (wait for it) Your Blood

Do needles scare you? How about seeing your literal life juice in a bag beside you?

Okay so maybe teasing you isn’t the best way to convert you into becoming a blood donor. But — and this is probably going to sound cliche — it’s not actually as scary as it seems…unless you have a legit phobia of needles and/or blood. In which case PLEASE for the love of god find another way to be charitable.

You already know this is free cause who the hell pays someone to draw blood from them? And in case you were wondering, yes blood donation is extremely important. It doesn’t help that there always seems to be a shortage of blood donations.

As a tip, you can try it (do it with a friend if you’re nervous), and if it’s unbearable just don’t do it again. Pretty simple, right?

Oh, and in case you need more of an incentive to donate blood besides the feel goods of being charitable, just know that you get a buttload of free snacks before and after donating. And no, I’m not embellishing.

Where To Go

Your Local Red Cross Maybe a downside of this is that there’s basically one really easily accessible organization to give blood, and you already know what it is. Yes, the easily recognizable Red Cross. You can find blood drives near you by searching via their website, and if and when you donate you can have a nifty blood donor card made (free or charge of course) to make the process go by more quickly.

For the record, you can also check if your local area has additional blood centers or if any hospitals near you organize blood donations.

04. Donate Other People’s Cash

Don’t worry, I’m not talking about doing a heist!

So admittedly this one is piggybacking off of tip #1, but this may be a bit more intimidating to some people. However, if your main concern about nonprofits and charities is the amount of money (or lack thereof) that they manage to rake in, you can always find a way to get other people to dump their pockets instead of you.

Fundraisers are a big part of annual cash flow for nonprofits, so if you don’t have your own money to give organizing one of these can be a great 2nd option. And if you’re a bit on the shy side, online fundraisers are popping up on the regular now.

Is it easy? No way, but definitely worth it if you have a cause you’re passionate about. Not to mention there are loads of guides on how to host a successful fundraiser if you google it.

And in case you need an incentive for this one too, it looks dope on things like resumes and college applications and all that.

Where To Go

Do I really need to say local nonprofit again?

A Well Known Charity of Your Choice Many charities/nonprofits may not have an office in your neighborhood, but it’s becoming more and more common for large nonprofits to allow people to host fundraisers in their local area (e.g. UNICEF, Feeding America, and the aforementioned Red Cross.)

05. Small Donations Make a Difference

In case you STILL don’t believe anything I’ve said (I mean, typed…), remember that small donations are still an important part of gifted cash.

Am I saying that they’re the equivalent of massive donations? Of course not. But not too long ago on this blog we talked about how if more of us behaved more sustainably, then the whole “one person doesn’t make a difference” mentality wouldn’t be holding back sustainability so much.

This is also the case for monetary donations to nonprofits. If more of us give what we can, they would inevitably have a higher fund count at the end of the year.

I know here at ALDA we tend to focus more on the environment, but socially-focused charities are as important to the whole of sustainability as environmental protection. And in case you were wondering, OF COURSE you can apply any of these tips to any environmental nonprofit of your choosing. But of course you don’t have to pick between being environmentally charitable and socially charitable. Why not switch between the two for the ultimate way to #protectyourwild?

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By Darian Williams, ALDA’s Blog and Digital Marketing Specialist Intern

Originally published at alda.life.