For presents, give donations!
Animal rescue centres, sanctuaries and charities spend your money on all sorts of things, from going out to rescue animals, to doing veterinary checks to ensure they are healthy, vaccinating, neutering, microchipping, feeding, cleaning, and checking potential homes.
Much depends on the work the organisation does. Many conservation organisations will need to fund research into animals' behaviour, conservation itself, locating, sedating and tagging animals for tracking, lobbying on the animals' behalf, campaigning and working with other similar groups around the globe.
All these things cost money.
Donate instead of spending money on unwanted presents!
- Exchange charity donations instead with friends and relatives, or make this part of your present to each other - you give to their charity, they give to yours. You don't have to make this a huge amount - £5 is better than nothing. You can usually make a donation on-line/
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Adopt an acre of rainforest or wood, or plant a tree. Protect animals' homes.
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Spend money on your garden rather than a conservatory. Conservatories bite into the homes of wildlife - they take away land from animals.
- Adopt or sponsor an animal.
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Check to see what the charity has in the way of gifts. What can you purchase for fellow animal-lovers as presents at Christmas or birthdays; or what would be useful that you need, e.g. new mugs (that you can use at work, so spreading the message), diaries, calendars, Christsmas cards, tea-towels, books and more.
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Does the charity have a wish list? Can you buy or give one of those items on the list?
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Agree to buy each other presents from charity shops, often seen in the high street.
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Things you can donate include...
- Won something in a raffle or lottery? Give some of the proceeds to your favourite charity
- Give a legacy - most charities will have information on their site as to how you do this.
- Don't throw your old mobile away - many charities need them
- As they do old ink cartridges
- If you fly a lot, why not give some of your air miles to charities whose people need to travel a lot for the job?
- Use charity shops and buy second-hand instead of brand new
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Support appeals
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Give as you earn - make a monthly donation. It really helps animal charities, because they know what is coming in. Even if you just give £5, that's the equivalent of a bottle of good wine or a couple of glasses of wine bought in a pub a month.
If you give to charity and you live in the UK, you can usually gift aid your donation, which means that the taxman gives money as well! In fact, you can open up a CAF Charity account. Click here for more...
And employers who'd like their company to give, can click here.
Live outside the UK? Find out what your government does to help you give to charity. You could be surprised!
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