Non-Monetary Ways to Give Back

Sometimes, when people think of donations, the first and only thing that comes to mind is money.  How much money do I need to give to make a difference?

I've often been a victim of this myself.  Luckily, I've come across several awesome people and organizations that have caused me to think differently and more creatively.  With a lot of my "donation budget" wrapped up in recurring donations to specific organizations, I'm often trying to figure out how I can give back more, without necessarily blowing up my bank account.  While it's honorable to want to give back as much as you can, no one wants to see someone go bankrupt doing it.

Here are three things that I've been reminded of in the last couple years that are just as valuable as monetary donations: time, resources, and talent.  I realize that money falls into the resources category, but for this post's sake, I'm referring more to tangible items/goods/physical ability.  Let's take a look at some examples for all three:

Time
It's so easy to find organizations that need volunteers.  In the last year, I've had a blast volunteering with friends and co-workers at several charitable organizations including (not limited to) the National AIDS Memorial, San Francisco AIDS Walk, and the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.  Whether you enjoy gardening, administrative work, or cleaning up after animals and sorting their fish (I bet you can guess where that happened!), there is something for everyone when it comes to volunteering.  Check out volunteermatch.org for some cool ideas on how to get started in your area!

Resources
*I'm going to start this with a disclaimer that both of these ideas may require money and use a particular talent, but I don't list them under money since the item needed isn't directly bought for a charity, and the talents used aren't necessarily specific, but rather humanly universal.

Smart phones.  Where would our world be without them?  Probably much less connected, but maybe also more personal (that's right, I said it - I think we all spend too much time on our phones instead of with each other!).  That said, both of my "resource" volunteer options involve smart phones.

This first option, however, doesn't even involve the use of your smart phone, but rather, the non-use of it.  Currently, Unicef has sponsors for it's Tap Project, which provides a day a clean drinking water to those in need of it for every 10 minutes that someone doesn't use their smart phone.  All you need to do is go to tap.unicefusa.org on your smart phone and start the timer.  If you move your phone at all, it will stop recording your time.  My record so far is 50 minutes, or 5 days of clean water.

The second option is using your regular exercise routine to benefit a charitable organization of your choice.  I've mentioned Charity Miles on my blog before, but need to mention it again because it's just that great of a chartiable giving phone app.  Just download the app and run it while you walk, run or bike and Charity Miles' sponsors will donate to an organization of your choice (25 cents for every mile walked/ran, and 10 cents for every mile biked).  I'm addicted to this app and use it during all my outdoor hikes and runs.

Talent
Last is talent.  This involves using your creative, mental and administrative skills and abilities to come up with unique ways to give back.  Using your talents can also fall under the time category, but I've decided to use the time category to refer solely to existing volunteer opportunities.  For this, I'm thinking original ideas!  Do you like to paint, draw, create?  Try creating something to sell in a charitable auction or try selling your own work and donating the profits to a non-profit.

Maybe you could provide a non-profit with creative goods that they need.  For example, my knit circle at work is currently in the middle of a knit-a-thon month where we try to make as many hats as possible over the month of March to then donate to chemotherapy patients in local hospitals.

A friend of mine is a very talented artist and he recently used his abilities to create a year long drawing-a-day project that he's turning into a book, with publishing costs funded through Kickstarter, and all proceeds of the finished book benefiting the San Francisco Children's Creativity Museum.

How could you use your talents to give back?

How I'm staying motivated to make more hats for hospitals!

Now that you've heard some ideas, get out there and start making the world a better place.  In the words of Kid President, "It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance."

Happy Monday everyone!