HowardLake/Flickr

The economy is in meltdown and charities are suffering as so many of us feel we can’t afford to give as much as we’d like to. Well, this is the giving season so here at Moneymagpie, we’ve uncovered a host of ways you can still give to your favourite cause without spending so much as a single penny!

• Buy stuff online and donate your cashback to charity.
• Fight for a cause by signing up to Charity Credit cards.
• Save your money and help save the world.
• Earn money by simply searching online!
• Buy Co-op home insurance for Shelter
• Give more to your local charity shop by signing a simple form.
• Give through the workplace
• Recycle for Charity!
• Give at Christmas

Shop online for cashback

Earn while you buy stuff on the web, then give the proceeds to charity (or don’t…)

Give or Take is one of a number of websites that allow you to earn cash from purchases made online – and then tease you with the choice of keeping all your loot or giving it to charity.

With a range of 700 stores to choose from there’s something for everyone. Organic and fair trade shops, high street department stores and even products for your pooch are only a few of the options available on the site. And the idea is simple: the more you shop, the more you earn!

During registration you’ll be asked to choose whether you’re a ‘Giver’ or a ‘Taker’. Givers (who won’t have to pay a joining fee) will see their cashback donated monthly to their charity if they earn £10 or more. Takers (who are asked to pay a £5 annual fee) will get money paid straight into their account once they tot-up £25 or more.

It works by Give or Take earning a referral fee from the stores they direct you towards. And, instead of keeping it all to themselves, they give it straight back to you! So, take the hint: be a Giver, not a Taker. Sign up here for free to start giving for nothing.

Search, Surf and Donate

Helping charitable organisations can also be as simple as switching on your computer and exploring the internet. There are a range of search engines that offer proceeds to good causes and, at most, they require a quick and easy registration that will take no more than a few minutes.

Everyclick

Everyclick is another useful website which tallies up money while you search the web and works with up to 200,000 UK charities. You can also create your own sponsorship page (and get friends and supporters to join you on your fundraising quest), browse and shop online (half of the revenue Everyclick earns goes to charity) and even donate directly to an organisation. Claiming Gift Aid is also possible. However, take note: all credit and debit card donations are subject to a 4.8% charge to cover transfer costs.

 

Co-op home insurance

The Co-op are pledging £10 to Shelter every time someone takes out home insurance with them.

Charity Credit cards

Fighting aids in Africa, helping battle breast cancer or saving cuddly pandas from extinction; you can do more with your plastic pal these days than simply rack up crippling debt. A host of banks offer credit cards that donate a percentage to good causes and here at Moneymagpie we’ve identified a few that we think offer the best value and divided them up into helpful categories.

Biggest initial donation – Halifax

The bank that introduced a dancing, bespectacled banker named Howard to our television screens has two great offers for charitable credit cards. Halifax is offering customers the chance to contribute to their favourite charity by teaming up with Cancer Research UK and the NSPCC.

With a donation of £20 the first time a new cardholder makes a purchase, the Cancer Research UK card also offers 0% on balance transfers for the first 9 months (with a 3% initial fee) and 0% for the first 9 months on purchases. Halifax will also donate 0.25% of all purchases you make with your card.

By choosing the NSPCC credit card the initial donation drops to £10, but you can still take advantage of the favourable balance transfer and purchase percentages of 0% for 9 months, and a slightly higher donation of 0.3% on all purchases.

Best for continuous spending: American Express RED

Released amidst a hail of publicity in March 2006 and plugged by the likes of Bono (a co-creator), Gisele Bundchen and Elle MacPherson, the American Express RED card is part of the Product Red initiative that, in co-operation with partner companies, pledges to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.

American Express gives a whopping 1% (three times more that other card issuers) of all purchases to Product Red, and, as usual, being an Amex cardholder gives you many membership perks with plenty of offers.

But those in debt beware. The card is not advisable as existing credit card balances can only be transferred during certain periods and interest on the full balance being transferred must be payed at a rate of 1.46% per month, 18.9% per annum on a daily basis until the amount is fully repaid. Furthermore, all purchases will be charged at 18.9% APR.

 

Best for ongoing donations: MBNA

Animal lovers and wildlife enthusiasts take note: four of the six available charity credit cards with MBNA are geared towards the welfare of our furry friends and their natural surroundings.

The WWF, National Trust, Dogs Trust and RSPCA have teamed up with MBNA – as have The British Heart Foundation and Breakthrough Breast Cancer – to offer great ways to donate money to your favourite causes.

All six cards offer 0% on balance transfers (subject to a 3% handling fee) and money transfers from credit cards to current accounts for 12 months (with a 4% handling fee) – however, in order to take advantage of these rates transfers must go through within 3 months. Cardholders will also benefit from 0% on card purchases for 3 months from the date of the account opening.

The organisations also receive money if the cards are used within a certain period of the account being opened, and a cut for every £100 spent.

The Dogs Trust gets £4 if the account is used within 90 days and 0.25% on purchases, while the WWF gets £6 and 40p per £100 (plus a cuddly toy if you spend over £100 within 30 days of opening the account).

The National Trust receives £15 if the card is activated within three months and 0.3% on purchases, while the MBNA donates £20 to the RSPCA for customers using their accounts for the first time, and 25p for every hundred spent on goods.

The British Heart Foundation collects £7.50, and 35p, while Breast Cancer Breakthrough pockets £5 and 0.25% on purchases.

Apart from the British Heart Foundation and the RSPCA, MBNA also donates £2 for every year customers stay with their respective cards, and APR is fixed at 15.9% upon expiry of the rate deals.

MBNA SUMMARY

Card	Balance Transfers	Money Transfers	Purchases	Typical rate (variable)
ALL	0% for 12 months (3% fee)*	0% for 12 months(4% fee)*	0% for three months**	15.90% APR

*money needs to be transferred within 90 days of account opening

** from date of account opening

Card	Intro. Donation*	Donation per £100 spent	£2 annual donation	Perks
British Heart Foundation	£7.50	35p	No
Breakthrough Breast Cancer	£5.00	25p	Yes
WWF	£6.00	40p	Yes	Free cuddly toy** &10% off WWF store
National Trust	£15.00	30p	Yes	£5 saving if you spend £25 or more National Trust store
Dogs Trust	£4.00	25p	Yes
RSPCA	£20.00	25p	No

*if card used within 30 days

**if you spend £100 within 90 days of account opening

Best green and ethical cards – Barclaycard & the Co-op bank

Breathe (Barclaycard)

If Swampy ever got a real job and needed a credit card, this would surely be the one for him. Perfect for environmentalists, ecologists, and those driven to live greener, more ethical lifestyles, Barclaycard Breathe donates to projects that tackle climate change in a drive to cut emissions and reduce our carbon footprints.

Balance transfers are at 0% for 10 months (16.9% typical) with a 3% fee on transfers made within 60 days of account opening on amounts up to £5,000. Breathe cardholders will also be able to take advantage of up to 56 days of zero interest on new purchases, provided the statement balance is paid fully and on time each month.

Now onto saving the world: spending more than £3,000 a year on your card will result in £15 being donated to funding green projects, and you’ll also receive 10% off Halfords Cycles and Cycle Accessories. Flower and plant nursery titans Crocus – who supply top garden and landscape designers with breathtaking flora – also offer a 15% discount on all of their products to cardholders.

In addition, the Barclaycard Breathe encourages travel on public transport (in an effort to get you off your backsides and cut your carbon footprint) and as such have been running a long term promotion offer of 5.9% on promotional travel purchases. Unfortunately, Londoners are likely to miss out; the offer does not include travel with Transport for London (TfL).

‘Think’ credit card (Co-op bank)

The Co-operative Bank, the original eco-friendly and ethical bank (since 1992 it has refused to invest in companies involved in the arms trade, global climate change, genetic engineering, animal testing and use of sweated labour), offers a card that donates a percentage to the protection of a tropical, endangered rainforest. For every £100 you spend, the Co-op will donate 25p to the RSPB’s Indonesian Rainforest project.

The bank also rewards cardholders when shopping in a more green and ethically-conscious manner; if you shop with any of their ethical partners during the first six months, you’ll receive a lower rate of 7% on purchases. Similarly, the rate for transferring your balance is set at 7% for the first half-year, and you’ll also receive 59 days of interest-free credit.

Save your money, save the earth!

Triodos bank

Ever wanted to help with the battle against human rights abuses, be part of a war against poverty, or contribute to fight climate change by simply saving money? By signing up with the ethically super-charged Triodos Bank you certainly can. Sit back as your savings gain interest, safe in the knowledge that your money is being lent to causes aiming to make the world a better place.

Awarded the accolade of ‘Sustainable Bank of the Year’ by the Financial Times in 2009, Triodos has blazed a carbon-free, eco-trail in transparent, sustainable and ethically-conscious banking. It lends money to businesses and charities they deem to be of social or ecological benefit, and it’s the only commercial bank in the UK that allows customers to see precisely to whom they lend their money.

Triodos offers many different options, including Online Saver and Charity Saver accounts. The current interest rate for the Online Saver account is 0.30% and is only manageable online but you can open an account for as little as £1.

You’ll need £100 to open a Charity Saver account, but there are a range of options as to which organisations you can help; from making the lives of torture survivors better to helping fund Buddhist centres around the world. Interest rates for savings on the Charity Saver account are 0.05% for over £100, £1000+ at a rate of 0.10%, and an account with over £25,000 will benefit by 0.15% AER.

Triodos will also donate 0.25% of your total end-of-year balance to whichever cause you choose. Obviously, the more you save, the more money the organisation receives. And if you’re a UK tax-payer, you can also Gift Aid your donation – so your favourite charity will receive that little bit extra. It all counts!

Gift Aid

Operated by the tax office, Gift Aid is a government-driven initiative that allows charities to claim back the basic rate of tax on contributions made by UK citizens. This means that for every pound you give, your chosen charity will receive an extra 28p from Inland Revenue – at no extra cost to you!

Gift Aid can apply to donations of any amount, large or small, by cash, cheque, postal order, direct debit, standing order, debit or credit card (and even to donations of foreign currency).

Do I qualify?

To use Gift Aid, you must pay income or capital gains tax.  And you must have paid enough tax in the tax year in question to cover the amount which the charity will reclaim. (For example, if you were donating £100 to a charity, you’d have had to have paid at least £28 to Inland Revenue that tax year.)

Sue Ryder Care was the first charity to pioneer the innovative scheme covering donated goods with their ‘Sign on the Line’ campaign and managed to raise an extra £1 million in their first year. Other charities such as the British Heart Foundation and Help The Aged quickly followed suit.

Bonus for higher rate taxpayers

If you’re a higher rate tax payer, you can also claim back the difference between basic and higher rate tax. That means that for every pound you give away, you can get 18p back from the taxman (which you could keep, or give to charity).

So how do I do it?

The scheme is really easy. All you have to do is to fill in a simple declaration form. Most charities will have their own Gift Aid section you can fill in on their donation form or appeal.  A single form will cover every donation you make in future to the charity (be it in cash or used items), and you can even backdate claims for up to 6 years prior the date of the declaration.

A sample Gift Aid form can be found here. The Institute of Fundraising also has a useful Gift Aid Help website where experts are on-hand to answer any of your questions.

Give through the workplace

Workplace Giving UK is a great organisation that helps employers and employees donate. If you are an employer, you could have a scheme put in place so that your employees can make charitable donations from their pay. An easy and tax efficient way to give to charity! Find out how to impliment Workplace Giving here.

If you are an employee on the other hand, you can do your bit by ‘gifting’ a sponsorship to your family and friends. For a meaningful Christmas present, why not sponsor Christmas Dinners for Crisis for a rich uncle. If you have any nieces or nephews that adore animals, you can sponsor a dog for them with Dog’s Trust or any other pet with the PDSA. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities, click here.

Workplace Giving also offer the opportunity for you to donate one hour’s pay each month through your Workplace Giving scheme.

Recycle for charity

Clean up the office- ask each employee to donate unwanted goods and get your local charity shop to organise a collection!

You can recycle and give to charity at the same time! Everyday office items like mobile phones, inkjet cartridges and laptops can be recycled with Greensource which will help a charity each time you recycle.

Give at Christmas

If you’re a hairdresser, you could contact your local nursing home, hospice or cancer ward. Bring along some mince pies and spend an afternoon making someone look their best!

Operate a shoebox scheme this Christmas! This project enables families, schools, individuals, churches and businesses to cover shoeboxes in Christmas wrapping paper, fill them with new toys ( school supplies, sweets etc.)  and send them to needy children around the world. Think of things they need as well as things to play with, toothpaste and a toothbrush for example! Visit operationchristmaschild to find out more.

Sending a Christmas card can be more effective than you might think- send one with a message of solidarity or kindness to someone who is in danger or unjustly imprisoned- there are 32 individuals, groups and communities that need your support. It will give strength and hope to its recipient as well as show the prison staff and political authorities that the world is watching what they are doing. To find out how to get involved click here.

Next time you pop out to the supermarket, why not contact your local Age Concern and see if any of the elderly in your area need some Christmas shopping done. You could also sneak a small gift in with their shopping!

Instead of sending Christmas cards to your loved ones, you could send an email and donate the money saved on the card and postage to charity.

Useful links

• Institute of Fundraising
• Give or Take
• Halifax
• American Express RED
• MBNA
• Barclaycard Breathe
• The Co-operative Bank
• Tridos Bank
• Gift Aid Help
• Everyclick
• Railway Children