Rather than always donate to big charities, small charities often run on a shoestring and do more good. But rather than just throw money that you don’t have, consider raising money at the same time that you update your wardrobe with organic cotton t-shirts. Bumblebee Conservation Trust use Teemill to raise funds.
an organic t-shirt company to help small charities
Teemill is a wonderful company (created by organic Isle of Wight fashion brand Rapanui). Charities can create designs for their print-on-demand organic t-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts (and beanie hats) then sell online. The items are sent direct (printed in a green factory) and can be returned at end of life for recycling. So basically you’re selling clothing for people that need it, but it counts as a charity donation at the same time. Genius! Animals Asia (helping to stop the bear bile trade) uses this company to raise funds.
save & donate to charity (at the same time)
Charity Bank is a cross between a savings bank and a charity. You just join up and pool your savings, and these are used to support small community projects nationwide. The application process is really simple. So if you fancy using your saving to do some good, this is the bank to join. It’s not a current account, more like a ‘rainy day account’.
This bank is owned by charitable organisations and social purpose organisations. Banking with Charity Bank, your savings become part of a social mission, whether that’s investing in affordable housing and renewable energy or supporting local ethical charities. There are a range of simple accounts from fixed rate accounts to a simple tax-free ISA. There are also simple accounts for businesses, charities and credit unions.
From helping people who are homeless to giving money to organisations that heal divided communities, this is a great option to put your savings, which serves as a charity donation at the same time. Just imagine the huge difference to communities, if everyone put a little something away in one of their accounts, rather than with the big banks?
switch to a charity search engine
easysearch lets you list your small non-profit (whether that’s an eco cause, animal shelter, homeless shelter or hospital). Then for each search, sponsors raise money. It this is done at community level (not big animal-testing charities), the rewards are immense. If each person say in a village signed up and performed two searches per day, it would earn thousands – paid for by sponsors, so it’s a no-brainer. There are so many good causes to support, yet many people simply don’t have spare cash to donate. But nearly all of us use search engines to find information we need. So switching to the charity search engine below and choosing good local causes could cause enormous positive change.
Another good search engine is Ecoisa, which funds the planting of trees worldwide for every search performed. So far over 200 million trees have been planted, all planted by local organisations in 35 countries. Planting trees not only provides food and homes for birds and wildlife, but also helps to prevent climate change and flooding. You can also download their browser that generates solar energy, for each time you make a search. All data and privacy is protected, so you can safely surf the web.
why playing Veggie Lotto is better
Although there are many good reasons not to play the National Lottery, if you’re going to play one, Veggie Lotto, a small lottery (akin to visiting the Bingo or tombola, over multi-million pound lottery businesses) is a better idea. This still has huge prizes (up to £25K) but tickets cost just £1 a week with 7 guaranteed winners, and the prize sizes depend on tickets sold the previous Saturday night. And if there are multiple tickets that win the jackpot each week, they all receive the full prize money, not divided.
The difference here is that 50% of all sales go to support the Vegetarian Society (that is mostly vegan these days), rather than the National Lottery that only gives 25% to good causes. A recent recipient has been a tiny sheep sanctuary that receives very little funds, and relies on volunteers. If you’re going to have a flutter, switch to this outfit instead! You’re more likely to win and it will do more good! There’s also a syndicate guide you can download online.
apply for micro grants (for big changes)
The Pollination Project is a US idea that is a great inspiration on what could be done here. This charity basically gives tiny micro grants (no more than £1000 or so), like a ‘seed grant’ to help small charities establish or keep afloat. Often this amount can stop a farm sanctuary or homeless shelter from going under, and it exists to give out lots of tiny loans, rather than one big one.
Two examples of work they funded was a stainless steel vet station in a mobile van, to check health of pets escaping from domestic violence situations, and earth-friendly water bowls given out across India, to ensure that millions of stray dogs, cows, monkeys, birds and other animals have access to clean water.
