How to donate (anonymously) to small charities
We all like to give a little something to favourite small charities. But it can be difficult to discover which ones are using the money right. And if you like to give to lots of small causes, sometimes you feel more comfortable remaining anonymous. So you don’t end up on mailing lists, being bombarded by donation requests and free plastic pens.
How to keep your giving private
You could create a new Paypal address and give that way.
Or use Charities Aid Foundation (individuals or businesses can tick a box or set up an account) to donate anonymously. Your details are not passed on, although this only works for UK-registered charities.
In the UK, use Gift Aid if you pay tax. For every £1 given, charities can claim an extra 25p. Some charities are abroad like street dogs in Eastern Europe, so you’ll have to give direct, as they won’t be registered here.
You could invest with Charity Bank, a savings account where funds help community projects.
Why do supermarkets ask us to donate?
Who you give to is up to you. One modern irk for many these days is when supermarkets ask you to donate when you pay for food. For a start, many of these are big animal-testing charities that perhaps you don’t wish to donate to anyway.
Plus if you give privately, it’s the supermarkets that should be also giving. Not ‘forcing you’ to give extra to a charity you may not have researched or know much about. Tesco and Booths both do this.
One reader asks ”I’m not the one making billions in profits, you are. If you feel the need to do good, how about you donate on my behalf? ‘
How to research small charities to give to
It’s important to not just give to charities, because others tell you to. Modern humane medical research is not just kinder and cheaper, but has far better chance of finding cures for disease. If you give to medical charities, switch to one of these.
For others, enter your ‘passion’ at Find That Charity. It will bring up big charities first, then smaller registered ones. Once you find ones that interest you, look them up at the government’s Register of Charities. This will tell you what their income/expenditure is, and if anyone earns over £60,000.
If you like to help animals abroad that receive little help, read up on how to help street dogs and shelters in Eastern Europe. It may be worth getting a Paypal account if you wish to donate anonymously. Because without a UK registration, they won’t qualify to list at Charities Aid Foundation.
No money? Donate time and skills to charities
It’s good to donate money. But if you’re strapped for cash, most organisations also welcome donations of other kinds: from volunteering cleaning and helping out to building/decorating work. Or using office-based skills to promote charities and drive fundraising.
Photographer Sophie Gamand uses her photographic skills (above) to snap animals in shelters, ready for adoption drives!
- Got building skills (or leftover building materials?) Donate them (or help out) at local animal shelters, or even animal shelters in Eastern Europe, that need quality kennels.
- Techy person? Help to design websites by using office skills. Or launch fundraising campaigns and add donation buttons on social media.
- Provide pro bono consultancy services, if you have legal knowledge. To help charities with financials and office jobs.
- If you’re good at copywriting, write grant bids, design brochures or make promo videos.
- If you speak another language, translate documents to take campaigns worldwide.
- Mentoring: If you’re an expert in something, train others. This could be fundraising to public speaking, to sharing knowledge that could help other volunteers.
A Good Thing (donate unwanted goods)
A Good Thing lets businesses donate items to small charities via an app, rather them languishing in offices or going to landfill. From office furniture to laptops, you can even donate meeting room space.
Obviously there are safety caveats in place (don’t donate faulty electric goods or non-PAT tested electrical goods, sofas and mattresses need fire tags). Also don’t donate used car seats or anything that could cause safety issues.
For example: A dental surgery had an unused dispenser just lying around. It was donated to a homeless shelter, to sanitise rooms for residents. It would have cost £1600 new, they got it for free!
Many small charities often have what you don’t need from old crockery to office chairs and sets of ring binders for office organisation. The site above has charities with wish lists (as a business, you can also list what you have that others could use).
