Christmas Giving – How To Give a Charity Gift
How To Give a Charity Gift
What, your recipient wants nothing for themselves, but instead wishes that a donation be made in their name to someone less fortunate? Aw, how sweet! No matter what their proclivities are, this is a commendable move, and it takes an unusually socially conscious person to turn their nose up at the rampant commercialism of the Holiday season and take a refreshingly different approach. In fact, you're probably dealing with someone who is an "out-of-the-box" thinker.
If they're direct about it, then you have no worry. Just donate what you can to the charity they specify, and be done with it. Most of the time there's a way to send a card notifying the recipient that a donation has been made in their name. If you have someone who's this specific, resist the urge to get them something else "on the side." Many people who refuse gifts at Christmas do so for religious or philosophical reasons - they really mean it when they say they want nothing for themselves! Respect that choice.
If they're more vague - "Just make a donation for me to a charity of some sort" - your task is a little more work. You're expected to pick a charity or cause for them? In that case, try to pick a clue from that person's likes and dislikes.
Are they politically involved? Is it an election season? If so, they might like a donation to their favorite candidate or political party. Remember to only do this if you're very, very sure that this is what they would have wanted.
Are they affiliated with a religion or strongly religious? Now you have a number of church-supported efforts you can donate to. Most churches have charities ongoing for needy children, orphanages, war veterans, and the like. Several more have donations you can make to sponsor a missionary or promote some church-connected effort. As long as you stay within the religion of your recipient, you almost can't go wrong.
There's several more obvious ones - an environmental activist might like a donation to Greenpeace, an animal-rights activist will appreciate a donation to an animal-right group, and so on. These pretty much answer themselves.
How about a programmer? Regardless of what platform they work on, a programmer will benefit from Free and Open Source software. You're using it right now, after all, whether you know it or not! A donation to an organization that produces Free and Open Source software (such as the FSF or GNU) will enrich the technology environment for everyone.
How about a teacher? Donating to a college fund, grant agency, or other educational organization devoted to helping those less fortunate get an education helps every teacher. Another possibility is donating to a science and research fund, or a science-related charity.
Tips like these are the kind of thinking you should be striving for. It's an invitation to get creative, after all. Have some fun with it, and you can scratch that Holiday spending urge and please your recipient at the same time, all while doing some good in the world!
P.S. Here's the way we do it at GadgetAccess:
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Filed Under: Education in Technology • The Internetz
There’s another great option for giving a gift of charity, and the gadget lovers will enjoy it because the website is so friendly. It’s called TisBest Philanthropy (www.tisbest.org). The cards are customizable in real time, and they’re very attractive. The giver buys the charity gift card and the recipient decides which charity gets the money. There’s a cause and/or charity for everybody’s passion. This is the only site dedicated exclusively to charity gift cards. It’s terrific.