Once you’ve decided to sign up with us at TheGivingMachine, the most important part of the process is deciding which worthy charities and causes you want to donate to. You can start making free donations to up to 4 causes and it’s these causes that will benefit every time you shop online with one of your partnered retailers. So, what are you going to look out for when you’re deciding? There are a whole load of brilliant, deserving charities out there that you need to boil it down to just 4, a difficult task! Here are a few handy hints to help you get started.
Local
Take a look around your local community. You’ll find lots of causes that need your help. Smaller, local charities usually struggle the most to secure funding and maintain running costs, so choosing one to donate to can make a big difference. The best part of choosing a local charity is that you can actively notice the difference in your community. You could even pop in and have a chat about the numerous ways that charities use donations and it could lead to other ways that you can help, such as volunteering opportunities or getting involved in more fundraising.
Close to home
We often donate to certain charities because their cause hits home and means something personal to us. Seeing the day to day impact that a disease or condition can have on a loved one can compel you to want to do more, help more and donate more. Choosing a charity that supports a cause that has directly impacted you can help to give you catharsis and is a way of recognising and raising awareness for a condition.
Charity has helped you
Amazing charities are everywhere and there’s a big chance that you’ve benefitted from a charity in some way. What better way to give back than to help a charity every time you buy online. It’s a way of saying thank you and being able to donate to someone who’s made a difference in your life too and help them to benefit others. If they’ve helped you to get into a position where you can contribute then it can feel empowering to give back something.
Less well-known
There are lots of charities that are far more visible than others. This can be because they have more advertising and therefore they get more funding and vice versa. Lots of charities can get overlooked in favour of much larger charities that don’t have to continually struggle to keep up with running costs or depend on public donations. Choosing charities that are smaller but that do equally important work can have a big impact on their day to day existence and you can help to ease the pressure of running a successful charity.
It’s up to you to decide which charities you pick and it can be an emotional decision, a practical one or both. Whatever you do, you’ll be making a big difference in your own small way.
