Kelley Fernbacher is the director of non-profit outreach at BroadCause, a social good platform that unites people, brands and non-profit organizations to activate passionate communities around the causes that are most important to them. Follow BroadCause on Twitter and Facebook, or support BroadCause non-profits through the BroadCause website.
Let’s say you want to give back, but your pockets aren’t overflowing with cash. What can you do?
There are many meaningful ways to give back beyond writing checks. Whether you’re passionate about a global issue or a local community cause, the web makes it easier than ever to show your support.
Here are seven ways you can easily devote some of your hours of web surfing to social good.
1. Give Your Talent
You have a valuable skill set, so share it! Smaller non-profit organizations often have limited resources. Access to graphic designers, writers, event planners and many other professionals can be hard to budget. Online volunteering services such as Smart Volunteer and Volunteer Match pair talented professionals with non-profits seeking a wide range of skills and services.
2. Give Your Time
You don't need to leave your computer to sign up for an online mentoring program. You can devote 30 minutes per week on Infinite Family to mentor a South African teen.
If you're a math wiz, tutor children on Reasoning Mind. You can also try ICouldBe, where just 20 minutes of tutoring a week helps low-income students stay in school and make better career choices.
3. Go Shopping
If you're an online shopping addict, you can donate a portion of each of your sprees to charity. Partner merchants of Buy4 and We-Care agree to donate a portion of each purchase to a charity of the shopper's choosing. The sites have over 1,600 partners so you're sure to find what you want. We-Care also lets you add your own cause, meaning your next online shopping trip can support your local schools or favorite charity.
4. Give Gifts
If you're in the giving spirit but don't want to "just" write a check, you can pick out an affordable gift for a community in need. Plan USA allows shoppers to purchase âGifts for Hopeâ starting at $10. Lower-priced gifts range from baby blankets and mango trees to âthree baby chicksâ or an emergency water supply.
Oxfam America Unwrapped has a similar model, allowing shoppers to choose a gift based on a specific occasion or recipient. You can also try Donors Choose which lets you purchase much-needed school supplies for classrooms across the country.
5. Get a Deal
Your savvy, sale-finding skills can help others! Group deal site Common Kindness saves you money on groceries while contributing to a charity of your choice. Philanthroper creates daily "deals" for small non-profits. It sends an email every day sharing a small organization's story. Subscribers who relate to the tale can then submit one dollar of support.
6. Just Search and Click
Even the most basic web interactions can be turned into vehicles for good. Charitable search engine Good Search automatically donates to the charity of your choice each time you run an online search. You can click-to-donate with Care2, which generates donations whenever you click a link. Sign up for a daily email that reminds you to go back and click every day.
7. Play a Game
Finally, you can give your mind a rest and play a game. Double Impact turns gaming into charitable giving. Players perform small, sustainability-focused tasks to earn points that translate into dollars donated to a range of different charities. On the other hand, Games for Change's games educate players about world issues and inspire more awareness and involvement. If you like Internet quiz games, try Free Rice, which donates ten grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for each correct answer generated.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Clover_1
More About: charity, online games, social good, volunteer
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