Give without going broke

On Monday night I hosted Dine out for Hunger at Cosi in Exton. We haven’t gotten final results from the sales, but the raffle items brought in $220, that’s more than 1500 meals for hungry Philadelphia area families! The event, and my work on The Childhood Hunger Ends Here campaign has proven to me that by spending a few hours dedicated to hosting event our local community could make a huge impact.

Giving Back without breaking the bank

Everywhere you look there are causes, and wonderful groups helping people. Whether it’s a local soup kitchen, a walk for a disease, or the SPCA-you have a myriad of causes to choose to give to. You may be short on cash though, so what are some ways you can help without going into debt?

Lend a hand

For many charities having people available is more important than dollars. If you’re passionate about pets you could donate a few hours to caring for abandoned pets at your local animal shelter. Being on hand to answer questions, or do the behind the scenes work can be a huge help to understaffed charities.

Use your skills

Whether you’re a carpenter, website designer, social media marketer, or a fantastic babysitter; you can find ways to use your skills to help the causes you support. Not sure if your chosen charity could use your special skills? Shoot off a quick email and ask what they need. You may be surprised at the simple tasks that they need help with.

Shop for a Cause

Whether it’s buying Girl Scout cookies, getting your car washed by the local football team, or buying brands that give a portion of profits to charity you can find great ways to support causes while buying something you might otherwise need.

Every penny counts

While you may only have $10 a month to donate to charity, that $10 may go much farther in the hands of the charity than you think. For instance, while I was touring the LA food bank I learned that food banks often need high protein foods. So while your donation of canned goods is helpful, spending $10 on canned goods would be significantly less than they would pay for the same canned goods. In some cases they can purchase 5-10 times as much of a food they need then if you purchased it yourself.

What are ways you give back without spending a lot?

Kelly

Reminder: I have a donation bar at the top of this page that money goes directly to Philadelphia area families via PhilAbundance.

For more on giving without spending a ton, stop by my show playback page (will embed it when I can access the code).

Disclosure: I am being compensated to act as a blogger corespondent for Childhood Hunger Ends Here, but all opinions and experiences are my own.

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

Tagged as: chairty, Childhood Hunger Ends Here, giving, hunger, Hunger Relief, money, Philanthropy

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http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

That's a wonderful way to give back! It's definitely a win-win situation, and you can bring awareness of the causes to your family and friends.
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

James,
That's a great way to give back. One of my favorite ways to give is to donate to my children's teachers. I try to send in small stuff, and give them each a gift card at the end of the year since they spend so much of their own money on the kids.
http://www.jgw-annuity.com/why-would-i-sell-my-annuity.aspx James

i give back to friends and family mostly. my giving comes from random gifts or treats. i like to share books with people that i have read that are either personal development or motivational.

i find these can help people when times are tough.
http://www.lifewithoutpink.com Tina @ LIfe Wiithout Pink

Great ideas. We give to charities when we can and participate in races/rides for charities. This is a great way to keep in shape and at the same time donate to a good cause.
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

It is harder to make time, but so worth it.

Money goes really far in some organizations, while others need “bodies,” so I always ask what they need help with.
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

Ryan, that's one I left off!

Donating blood, and being on donor lists, and even being an organ donor are fantastic ways to give. Unfortunately I'm not eligible to donate blood, but my husband can and does.
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

I agree, Aury. Though after the last week I'm wondering what I did, since I had the worst karma ever!
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

Good thinking!
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

Thanks Barb!

I love automating, but we're not ready to automate our giving yet-gotta finish off the rest of our debt first.

Your volunteer work sounds so fulfilling. There is nothing better than helping someone in need.
http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

Thanks! Nice to meet you.
Shelley Townsend

Those are some great ideas!
http://bigjandlittlej.blogspot.com/
http://www.screamingmimiblog.com Mimi

Great ideas!

I'm stopping by to welcome you to SITS!
http://barbarafriedbergpersonalfinance.com Barb Friedberg

Kelly, Found you through Yakezie-I love your focus!! So important. I have automated a large part of our charity contributions through charity navigator. I selected our favorite charities and have scheduled quarterly donations in a set amount. I don't need to do anything now, and I never forget. Also, don't feel guilty about throwing mail requests or phone requests away!!
Also, volunteered with VITA- to help low income individuals with tax prep (through the IRS). I LOVED IT!
Best regards, Barb
http://twitter.com/eemusings eemusings

Another way I give back is doing online surveys, but instead of cashing out rewards, donating them to a cause.
http://www.plantingdollars.com Ryan @ Planting Dollars

I tend to offer my services and time more often than money, but like to help at habitat build sites, donating blood, and by giving time to a few local charities. When I'm not so poor I'll give money
ctreit

My wife and I give money to charities that benefit humanity like PhilAbundance which you feature on your site. Giving money is one thing, but giving time and your own talents are so much more rewarding for me. It is also a bit harder.
http://www.thunderdrake.com/blog/ aury (thunderdrake)

The law of reciprocity is a little more indirect, but there are some connections, not unlike Karma. For example, you don’t necessarily need to give X to receive X. You don’t need to give money to receive money. You can give X Y Z A B or C to receive X. The other variables being time, labour, product, skills, love, and other such lovely things. But that’s the beauty of the law of reciprocity.
ctreit

My wife and I donate money and time to various charities. We usually focus on charities that benefit humanity. I have found that giving money does only so much, but when I give my time I also receive the most reward, since I can see how my actions benefit others. This makes charitable work very rewarding for me.