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How can I donate to charity with no money? If you want to support your favourite charity, but don't have the funds, we have 25 great ways for you to really help out your chosen charitable organisation, without spending a penny.
Being skint doesn't mean you can't be charitable, there are loads of ways you can still fundraise, donate and spread the word without donating cash - which is just as much appreciated by charities.
No Spend Donation Ideas
Cash Donations aren't the only thing charities require - from shopping online to volunteering, you can still make a difference. Here are 25 ways to help charity without spending any money...
1 - EasyFundraising
Easyfundraising allows you to choose a charity and in return for using their links while you shop online, they then make a small donation to your charity of choice. Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal, it's really simple.
Visit Easyfundraising
2 - Amazon Smile
If like me, you're constantly shopping online at Amazon, consider signing up to Amazon Smile. Amazon donates 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns, and shipping fees) of eligible purchases to the charitable organisation of your choice.
Visit Amazon Smile
3 - Fundraising
Instead of giving your own money, why not start a fundraiser for your charity of choice. There are 100s of fundraising ideas that won't cost you a penny. All you need to start off is an idea, consent, and an online fundraising page.
Check out JustGiving
4 - Volunteer your Time
There are lots of easy ways to give your time to help others – from having a cup of tea with an elderly neighbour, to helping out in your local charity shop. You can check out your chosen charity's website for options or check out the volunteering database.
Check out volunteering database doit.org
5 - Volunteer Virtually
Online volunteering is fast, easy – and most of all, effective. When skilled, passionate individuals join forces online with great organizations working toward sustainable development goals, everyone wins.
Visit the UNV
6 - Nominate Your Charity
A lot of workplaces allow colleagues to nominate a chosen charity. There are also supermarkets, companies, and events looking for a charity to sponsor. Give your favourite a mention - you never know!
7 - Gift Aid
Did you know that you can Gift Aid donations of belongings as well as cash? If you complete a Gift Aid form, that you can collect from in store, you can add 25% to the value of what you give. Once the items you donated have sold, they will tell you how much they raised and you then confirm that the money can be treated as a Gift Aid donation – paid for by the government.
8 - Charity Credit Cards
The main advantage of charity credit cards is that the provider processes donations for you, so you don’t have to worry about setting up regular payments to your chosen charity. However, the amount donated is typically low, around 25p for every £100 you spend.
9 - Give Blood
Blood donation is a life saving gift to people who need it in an emergency or for on-going medical treatment. It's free to register, there's plenty of mobile vans around the UK, and will take just 10 minutes of your time.
Register to become a blood donor
10 - Donate Bone Marrow
Join Anthony Nolan's donor register and you could save the life of someone with blood cancer. You get sent a free saliva kit and if you ever match up with someone battling blood cancer, you could save a life.
Register for a free DNA kit
11 - Raise a Guide Dog
Guide dogs for the blind use volunteers to raise their puppies from ages 6 weeks to around 14 months, until they're ready to begin training. Basic equipment, vet bills, and food costs are covered by the charity.
Volunteer
12 - Have a Clear-Out
There are hundreds of Charity shops in towns throughout the UK that are always after donations. If you have household items, toys, and clothing that you no longer need, consider taking them to your favourite.
13 - Donate your Hair
You can donate hair to the little princess trust they make wigs for little girls who have lost hair to chemotherapy, you need a plait of at least 8 inches for it to be made into a wig.
Visit Little Princess Trust
14 - Raise Awareness
Helping a charity get its message across is such an important part of them succeeding. Re-post and sharing their social media posts costs nothing but improves the reach of their message. Your share could get them new followers, donations, and supporters!
15 - Dog Walking
A great way to help out charity whist also keeping fit is to volunteer for dog walking at your local animal shelter. You'll always be given dogs that are suitable for your needs and you can do it as little (or often) as you'd like. Full training is given and it's a very rewarding task.
16 - The Giving Machine
TheGivingMachine is a unique registered charity that enables you to generate sales commissions with every online purchase. These commissions are converted into free donations for the schools, charities, and other community organisations you choose.
Join The Giving Machine
17 - Knitting
If you can knit or crotchet, your donations would be much appreciated at Premature baby units, Homeless Shelters, and Animal Rescues. Hats and Clothing are always welcomed at baby units and blankets are much needed at the latter. Although, wool can be costly, so ask your friends and family if they have any old wool lying around, to make it free for you.
18 - Telephone Befriending
If you can regularly spare up to an hour and you’re a good listener, friendly, empathetic and like a good chat over the phone, then this could be perfect for you. There are 1000s of lonely people in the UK that need someone to talk to. You also need to be living in the UK and aged over 18.
Find out More
Free Phone APPs you can use to Give Back
20 - Feedie
Feedie is a free app that makes your pictures count by letting restaurants exchange donations for social media love. For each photo shared via Feedie, participating restaurants will make a donation to The Lunchbox Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides meals to schoolchildren in South Africa.
21 - Give2Charity
Give 2 Charity is a free app that asks for information in exchange for points that can be applied toward charitable donations. The app constantly tracks your location data and gives you points when you go places - if you don't mind being tracked, it's an easy way to give back.
22 - Charity Miles
Turn your miles into money with the Charity Miles app. It's free to download and donates money to a charity of your choice, on your behalf for your daily exercising and moving. For every mile you move, you help earn money for your charity from our corporate sponsorship pool. You can also get sponsored by your friends.
Download Charity Miles
23 - Donate a Photo
Powered by Johnson & Johnson, this free app lets you donate your camera snaps and makes a £1 donation toward the cause or charity of your choice in return. You can donate one photo per day - that's £365 per year you could be responsible for donating, without spending a penny!
Download Donate a Photo
24 - Be My Eyes
Be My Eyes is a free app that connects blind and low-vision people with sighted volunteers and for visual assistance through live video calls. Lend your eyes to solve tasks big and small helping blind and low-vision people lead more independent lives
Download Be My Eyes
25 - Share The Meal
Share the Meal is a free app with the initiative to help address world hunger. The app created by The United Nations World Food Programme allows you to tap on your smartphone to ‘Share The Meal’ and donate 50p – which is what it costs to feed a child for one day.
Download Share the Meal
What are your favorite ways to give to charity? As always, if you know of any other great ways to support a charity, please let us know in the comments below...
