The Give List

71 ways to give without opening your wallet.

What are you going to do? Take a moment to vote for your favorite ideas.

No money?

  1. Find a local domestic abuse shelter and donate clothes and toys. | by @gurnage; View Tweet
  2. Have too many skymiles? Donate to injured solders' families so they can visit them. | by @gurnage; View Tweet
  3. Have season tickets? Give a few away to local Youth org. | by @webb; View Tweet
  4. Donate clothes | by @vanessamason; View Tweet
  5. In Boston, please consider asking people to give food to the pantry at Boston Medical College instead of gifts. | by @joewaters; View Tweet
  6. When people ask what you want for Christmas, ask them to give canned goods to a food pantry. | by @stoweboyd; View Tweet
  7. Record a session telling stories with your parents or grandparents and gave it to all of your siblings (inspired by StoryCorps). | by @sharonschneider; View Tweet
  8. Donate credit card points. | by @kivilm; View Tweet
  9. Train nonprofits about marketing for free. | by @kivilm; View Tweet
  10. Ring bell for Salvation Army. | by @kivilm; View Tweet
  11. Search and Give this season with Windows Live Online Search. | @HilaryP; View Tweet
  12. Send a free holiday card to a hero | by @wharman; View Tweet
  13. Write a post on your blog in honor of someone you love or a cause that matters to you. dedicate it. | by @StaceyMonk; View Tweet
  14. Volunteer your time as a fundraiser, designer, accountant, web developer, board member, mentor, pie baker to a social entrepreneur. | by @StaceyMonk; View Tweet
  15. Donate blood. | by @wharman; View Tweet
  16. If you crochet or knit and have extra yarn sitting around, make winter scarves or gloves and donate to an nonprofit working with at-risk populations. | by @PeepsHelpPeeps; View Tweet
  17. Search for websites of local nonprofits and find one that moves your heart to action. | by @togetherwf; View Tweet
  18. Write to people that you know in the non-profit world and let them know how much you appreciate their work. | by @GrantsChampion; View Tweet
  19. Visit, sit and listen to an elderly neighbor. We rarely take the time to learn from our elders and listening is a gift. | by @GrantsChampion; View Tweet
  20. Write a blog post about a cause or charity that you are passionate about. Be sure to include a link to the cause or charity. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  21. Record a video about what a cause or charity means to you and publish on YouTube, etc. with links to cause or charity site. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  22. Promote a cause or charity by capturing related photos and publishing on Flickr, etc. with links to cause or charity site. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  23. Donate your nonprofit books to a nonprofit management organization's library. | by @kanter; View Tweet
  24. Add a community service project to your conference or event. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  25. Add a walkathon or other charity fundraiser to your next conference or event. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  26. Add a blood drive to your conference or other event. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  27. Add a clothing drive to your conference or other event. | by @rogercarr; View Tweet
  28. Do you live where it snows? Need a holiday gift for an elderly neighbor? Present them with a pledge to shovel their walk. | by @pecksniffiana; View Tweet
  29. If you do give cash, get the schwag too and give it as a gift to someone else. | by @kanter; View Tweet
  30. Donate your really really out of date equipment to a computer recycler like Free Geek. | by @kanter; View Tweet
  31. Clean out your bookshelf and donate books to the library. | by @kanter; View Tweet
  32. Send a free, downloadable holiday card to a hero | by @OzarksRedCross; View Tweet
  33. Animal shelters need old blankets and comforters. Shelters are being overwhelmed because people are losing their homes. | by @cybersibesk; View Tweet
  34. Offer to make up Pre-Addressed, Stamped Envelopes/Cards for people with disabilities for them to send out for the holidays. | by @ALSofGNY; View Tweet
  35. Clear out all those hotel toiletries and donating to a shelter. | by @HSNetwork; View Tweet
  36. Children's hospitals always need toys this time of year. Don't wait till the last minute - it takes time to sort, distribute. | by @ChildrensHealth; View Tweet
  37. Tell your favorite nonprofits about Grant Gopher. It's a FREE database of available grants! No more subscription fees! | by @grantgopher; View Tweet
  38. Help kids who are in the hospital instead of at home. | by @mmiller20910; View Tweet
  39. Ask for free books to give away on your blog. | by @kanter; View Tweet
  40. Develop a website for a nonprofit or cause. | by @peterscampbell; View Tweet
  41. Donate stuff to the Goodwill. | by @peterscampbell; View Tweet
  42. A consultant? Donate a certain number of pro-bono hours in '09 for arts/civil rights organizations. | by @alexsteed; View Tweet
  43. Make a personal pro bono commitment for 2009 to Food First to learn more about hunger and DO something. | by @rachelannyes; View Tweet
  44. Conserve resources helps to reduce your carbon footprint and, combined, can help lead to energy independence. | by The Philanthropic Family; View Post
  45. Visit Buy It Like You Mean It and rate how good you think companies are doing based on reviews that are published on the website. | by Clay; View Comment
  46. Find out more about and participate in Big Sunday which began in 1998 with the simple idea of playing matchmaker between community nonprofits and volunteers who were eager to find more ways to give back. | by Gayle Bagelman; View Comment
  47. Change your will or insurance policy to benefit your favorite charity. | by Lorri Greif; View Comment
  48. If you are an accountant, do someone's taxes. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  49. If you are an accountant, volunteer at a tax clinic. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  50. If you are an accountant, ask a local charity if they need a treasurer. If they don't need one, ask if they know an organization that does. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  51. If you are an account and don't have time to be a treasurer for an organization, help a charity set up or improve their accounting system. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  52. Coach a Junior Achievement team and teach some kids about business. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  53. Hire a temporary student from the AIESEC business student exchange at the time of year when you really need help, so that a local student can get international business experience. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  54. Teach someone how to balance their bankbook. | by Energized Accounting; View Post
  55. Send holiday cards to the spouses and children of men and women in the military. | by Youth Serve America; View Post
  56. Ask your teach if you can help cleanup their classroom before winter break. | by Youth Serve America; View Post
  57. Volunteer with your local arts organization -- as a docent, to help with administrative tasks or to support events. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  58. Call a friend and tell them about your favorite concert or piece of art. Word of mouth is the best way to spread the mission of an organization. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  59. Write a letter to the editor of the opinion section of your local paper to tell them about the importance of the arts in your community. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  60. Have a listening party in your home. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  61. Write or call your congressperson to thank them for the increase in the NEA budget for this year, and to encourage them to continue supporting the arts. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  62. If you are a musician or an artist, teach a lesson to a child for free. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  63. Send CDs of your favorite music to the troops overseas. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  64. Someone you know probably loves the arts, but is unable to drive. Offer them a ride to his/her favorite concert or museum and see how much joy that brings! | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  65. Serve on a city level or neighborhoods arts council to help direct funds to arts organizations in need. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  66. Call your favorite arts organization and offer to distribute brochures to a local coffee shop or bookstore. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  67. If you are a café/restaurant/bar owner, create a signature dish or drink and name it in honor of your favorite organization. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  68. Create a wish list of your favorite arts organizations, and ask people to make donations in your name rather than buying you presents for the holidays. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  69. Attorneys can call California Lawyers for the Arts and offer his or her services. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  70. Audition, comment on or follow the YouTube Symphony Orchestra project. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post
  71. If your favorite arts organization has a blog, a facebook page, or some other form of social networking – leave a comment, post on their wall, or just send them an email telling them what you love about that organization. | by Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; View Post

What are you going to do? Take a moment to vote for your favorite ideas.

Some Money?

  1. Shop at www.iGive.com and donate | by dannieg4 and carlgladstone
  2. Kiva - Loans that change lives | by swrocha; and neddotcom
  3. Free employee giving campaign page on Givvy (free forever, not a trial) | by JohnTreadway
  4. Before donating to your college this year, give to the neediest first. Bostonians see Globe Santa http://globesanta.org | by JohnTreadway