So the #ALSIceBucketChallenge has done an excellent job of getting people to talk about charity and making donations! I know that for myself and other artist there is an element of our work that makes us feel like our own little non-profit organizations (that means we're all pretty poor) but we still want to help, so how can we?Well, luckily there are a lot of big corporations that have extra money that we don't have who are willing to make donations on our behalf, granted we don't get to write them off on our taxes but we're still making regular contributions and making a difference! So, what are these organizations and how can we start making "free" donations today?
1. AmazonSmile - Amazon has lots of money right? And you probably have to get at least a few things from Amazon each year, a birthday gift, wedding gift, shower gift, something! Well if you sign up for AmazonSmile you can select a charity and the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers (you can read more here: https://org.amazon.com/)
2. Everymove - First of all this app is AMAZING! It awards you points for working out that you can use for tangible rewards! Some of the rewards are gifts to yourself like a discount on athletic gear or healthy eating programs but there is always an option for a charitable donation! As you earn points you earn these rewards! Everymove links with MyFitnessPal, Fitbit and more to log your activity and you get bonus points for "active days" where you workout! I have made multiple donations to Make-a-wish using Everymove and in 6 months it's been about $10 just for working out!
3. Recyclebank.com - We should all be recycling right? Well this awesome program rewards you for not just your weekly recycling but also for reading interesting articles and watching great slideshows to learn about how we can help make a positive change for our world! There are TONS of rewards (magazine subscriptions, movie tickets, etc) but there are always local charities that you can support (https://www.recyclebank.com/rewards/donations)! All you need to do is register and put a sticker on your recycling bin and you're on your way to earning donations!
4. Wholefoods bag donation - Each time you bring your own bag to Wholefoods they reward you with a $0.05 discount per bag which you can either keep or donate to a local charity! I know it doesn't sound like a lot but imagine you bring 3 bags/week for the whole year, that's $0.15/week * 52 weeks = $7.80/year!
Do you know another way to make a donation doing stuff you already do anyway? Leave a comment and let me know!
<3 Sarah
