Holiday Charity Giving Guide

‘Tis the season to give generously, whatever holiday you may be celebrating. Many choose to step up their charitable giving around the end of the year for a number of reasons: the holidays move them to share their blessings; they want to make sure they can deduct their donations for that tax year; or end-of-year bonuses allow them to act on their generosity.  However you might be moved, here are some tips for getting the most out of your holiday charitable donations.

Make giving your gift
Numerous charities allow you to give gift certificates.  If you buy a gift certificate for Donors Choose, which helps fund projects at underfunded public schools, for example, the recipient can choose which project to fund.  If your recipient wants to support internationally, he or she could choose a microlending project to fund with a gift certificate from Kiva. Or give to JustGive, where a charity gift card (with a service fee) can be donated towards any of dozens of charity choices.

You can give time as well as money
Local food banks and shelters will appreciate your assistance, as the growing cold means more demands on their services.  Not sure what you’d want to volunteer for?  United Way’s Live United site offers a “Match Your Passion” quiz to help you find volunteer opportunities you’d enjoy.

…or part of yourself
Contact The American Red Cross and volunteer to donate blood.  Also consider joining the national registry for bone marrow donors.

Don’t forget season-specific drives
Many cities and organizations have coat drives to help make sure recipients can keep warm during the winter; the annual coat drive run by New York Cares is one of the most famous.  Your natural gas provider might have ways for you to donate to cover lower-income families’ heating costs.  Also look for food drives at your local supermarket; often you can find opportunities to buy someone a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.  SecretSanta.org keeps a database of toy drives across the country.

Give while shopping
If you’re doing your holiday shopping online, you can donate while shopping through the iGive portal.  When you choose a particular charity or cause and register with iGive, a small donation will be made for every purchase you make at participating stores.  The Minnesota Council on Foundations maintains a list of similar charitable giving portals.

Check out the charity
You may receive many appeals for charity in the mail and over the phone during the holiday season; how do you know which charities will use your money most responsibly?  Charity Navigator keeps financial and operations information on hundreds of charities so you can find out how donations are used.