Friday, December 18, 2009
Charitable & Meaningful Gift Ideas
Are you looking for nontraditional, charitable and creative gift ideas? I've compiled a list of cool, meaningful holiday gifts in case you're looking for last-minute ideas. In this climate where consumerism and excessiveness has given way to green living and conscious spending, people are looking to inject a little more meaning into what they give…
Charitable Gift Options
There are so many charities to choose from – how do you know if they're really legit? I love Charity Navigator, a website that evaluates charities' financial health by assessing their organizational efficiency and capacity. The following charities all have 4 star ratings by Charity Navigator:
* Second Harvest Food Bank: Serving Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, Second Harvest helps end hunger in our community. You can donate food at various distribution sites or make a monetary donation.
* Family Giving Tree: This Milpitas-based organization gives holiday gifts to underprivileged children as well as backpacks for back to school.
* Family Violence Prevention Fund: This San Francisco-based organization works to end violence against women and children by building strong and healthy families and communities.
* RAFT (Resource Area for Teachers): This San Jose non-profit provides creative hands-on activities, educational resources, workshops and inexpensive materials to enrich pre K-12 education and community group programs. You can make a materials or a monetary donation.
* Modest Needs: After donating, you're able to allocate points to a specific grant applicant, a low income family who needs temporary financial assistance.
* Oxfam America: An international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice, your $75 donation will raise a crocodile, $30 will plant 50 trees, and $18 will give a can of worms to a farmer.
* World Wildlife Fund: Adopt an endangered species and help save them from extinction. You can adopt a polar bear, penguin, panda or choose from 90 other species for amounts ranging from $25 to $250.
* First Book Give: Perfect for the book lover in your life! Give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own new books. Just $50 will provide 25 new books to a family in need.
Can’t decide which charity to go with? Another smart option is to purchase a gift card through CharityChoice, and the gift recipient can choose which charity will get the money. The list includes over 100 charities such as the Alzheimer's Association, Feed the Children and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Other Meaningful Gift Ideas
* Make something special. Collect your favorite recipes from family members and gather them in a book with a few photos of family members cooking and you have a personalized, family history through recipes! Or maybe put together a personalized calendar. In addition to photos for each month, fill in every family member's birthday in the calendar so they'll have a reminder.
* Choose eco-friendly products. World of Good by eBay connects you to eco-positive sellers and products all in one place so you can shop in a way that aligns with your personal values.
* Plan a special outing. Instead of buying something you’re not sure they’ll really like, take a loved one to a concert, cultural performance, museum, or sports game. The added bonus is that you get to spend time together!
* Give them extra time. You can give the gift of time to the busy people in your life with a Simplify gift certificate! Let Simplify take care of your friend's to-do list and household chores so they can spend that time on themselves, with their family and doing something they enjoy!
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