In today’s society, the donor and the charity have become extremely distant. This is not to say that there is no transaction in place, however, with the colonization of technology, social media, and other mobile tools, it has become easier to give but more inconvenient to participate. In order to get more participation from donors, charities use an array of attraction campaigns, creative ways to get the donors active and emotionally attached to the cause. This does not refer to just company donors or large-sum donors but also includes the $10, $5, and $1 donors. Charities are dependent upon the activeness of those that support their cause, especially financially. However, although foundations try numerous ways to engage their donors, prospective and current, the act of giving may become boring, burdensome or inconvenient for them. So, if you are one of the persons who are aching to donate to a charity or maybe you already are an active donor, let’s find ways to make your donation experience a more interactive and meaningful one.
Research
First, if you are a novice to donating to charities, it is important that you do your research. Find a charity that connects with you, one that you may have a personal connection with, whether through experience or personality. There is an insurmountable number of charities all across the globe, and they are all competing for your attention, your awareness, your time and your donation. How is one to choose to feed one child or the next? Or to give an education to one girl over the next? It is an impossible and heart-wrenching decision to have to make; however, doing your research carefully can make the decision that much easier to make.
One effective form of research, arguably the most effective, albeit time-consuming, would be to physically visit the offices of the foundations (Video calls or text messaging may be just effective at times). Connect with the owners and employees. Understand their motive and their goals. Which avenue are they using to get to their goals? For example, you may wish to donate to a charity foundation and connected with one that helps abused and abandoned animals. How are they helping these animals? Which part of the process of rescue do they invest in the most heavily? Are they rescuing the animals? Are they grooming and feeding the animals? Finding them foster homes? Do these align with the part of animal rescue that sparked your heart into donating? All of these are important questions to answer and to pose to your prospective foundation.
When visiting a charity foundation in person is inconvenient or impossible, do some online research. It is the most convenient as this can be done in the comfort of your own home or office at your leisure. There is also the advantage of being able to scour through multiple charities at a time. At the same time, this may also be a bit time-consuming and inundating, with the endless ads and suggestions being given in just one search phrase. With just one search of ‘donating to charities’, you can be flooded with hundreds of thousands of prospects, all vying for your curious cursor to take a click into its contents. Additionally, Internet consumers rarely search beyond the first page of any search engine results. The first page of search engine results usually includes ads paid for by the foundations and companies, and the most popular foundations, causing smaller and lesser-known foundations to be widely overlooked by the interested public.
Why Should You Donate to Charity?
It is impossible to count all of the reasons why one should get involved in charities, and difficult, at best, to explain the rewarding feeling that accompanies these acts. However, for the sake of the skeptics or the hesitant, here a just a few reasons why donating to charity should be a part of your schedule.
- It helps.
- It helps a child get the treatments he needs to survive and experience becoming an adult. It helps a mother to experience seeing her daughter off to school to learn. It helps rebuild a home after typhoons and floods have carried with it all of its walls and half of its occupants. Donating to charity helps people that would have otherwise suffered greatly without it. Many people in need to see charities as a sign that even through tragedy there is support, a sign of hope, a sign of life. A donation is also an effective way to show empathy or sympathy toward a person’s situation.
- It is infectious.
There is a reason why most ads use storytelling as the base of its campaign. It is because it works. Humans are enthralled by the narrative. It allows them to connect emotionally to the character or theme of the story. The same goes for donating to charity. When you tell friends, family or coworkers of your experiences donating, the people you’ve helped, the new perspective that you’ve come to see, it makes them more interested in being a part of what you are involved with. It sets an example to those observing you and encourages them to donate in their own ways or, in the very least, makes them aware of the initiative.
- It can improve your environment.
Have you ever looked in your neighborhood and wished that some parts were better, that some parts were revived or replenished? For anyone that has had these thoughts creating or donating to a charity can help you improve your own immediate environment. Donating to food drives in your neighborhood can help. How about community improvement foundations? Giving five dollars to the homeless can help one person momentarily, but giving that five dollars to a charity every so often can help dozens over a longer and more steady period of time.
- It may just help you live longer.
Numerous studies have shown giving to be healthy for the donor. There are multiple health benefits, especially mentally, that range anywhere from lifting self-esteem and self-worth to lowering depression and blood pressure. These can be beneficial to living a longer and more fulfilling life. There are few things that can be compared to donating to a charity that simultaneously helps the giver and the receiver.
Get Creative with Your Donations
Of course, charities need money, but they also need people. Interaction and networking opportunities are irreplaceable to charities. A monthly donation helps but it can also become a subscription to the donor, instead of a conscious donation. So why not get more creative in your donations.
- Buy memorabilia.
Many charities and non-profits have merchandise that their donors can have as keepsakes. These may come in the form of t-shirts, wristbands, activewear, etc. These are sometimes more important than just a simple monetary donation because of its concurrent capability to be an advertisement to others that their donors may come into contact with while being worn. So, go ahead and invest in some merchandise!
- Participate in events.
Get in shape at a Fun Run/Walk. Take your kids to enjoy some face painting at a fair. Join a few popup events. These are all great ways to get active in the non-profit and charity communities. Turn your monthly donation into a monthly outing. Participation shows your charity that you are involved in supporting its cause. This also helps to create buzz for your charity.
Donating to charity can be a blast! You can improve yourself and improve the lives of others at the same time. There is no limit to who and how you can help. So, get researching. Get creative. Most importantly, get involved.