Need some ideas of places to donate very small amounts of money

[connorlevismom]

We just started my son (who is 5) on a weekly allowance. How we are working it is he is getting 3 dollars a week. 1 dollar to save, 1 dollar to buy something for himself and 1 dollar to charity.

Can anyone recommend a charity where he can easily donate just a dollar? I know we can do the salvation army kettle and plan on doing that. But I am looking for other ideas as well. There are many charities around here that would actually turn their nose up at a dollar donation and I want my son to come away feeling proud of what he is doing and not ashamed he did not give more.

Kristine

 

[jaminmd]

We just started my son (who is 5) on a weekly allowance. How we are working it is he is getting 3 dollars a week. 1 dollar to save, 1 dollar to buy something for himself and 1 dollar to charity.

Can anyone recommend a charity where he can easily donate just a dollar? I know we can do the salvation army kettle and plan on doing that. But I am looking for other ideas as well. There are many charities around here that would actually turn their nose up at a dollar donation and I want my son to come away feeling proud of what he is doing and not ashamed he did not give more.

Kristine

How about letting him save up larger amounts to donate instead? Then you can look through various charities together & he can decide how he'd like to donate his money? For example, maybe $10 to the local volunteer fire department, $10 to The American Cancer Society, etc. Those are just examples, of course. We give to charities that are close to our hearts for one reason or another, such as law enforcement groups & our local VFD.

 

[sallysmom]

What a wonderful thing you are doing.

How about the idea of decorating an empty cup and putting in the $1 each week until you have a larger amount of money accumulated to donate. Personally, I would give any extra money to our local no-kill animal shelter. Do you have something like that in your area?

I'm sure whatever you decide, it will be a lifelong lesson your are teaching your son. Kudos!

 

[Darcy03231]

Contact your local humane society. When my children were young they donated each week and the humane society was happy to take their dollar (they also liked going in to visit with the animals each week).

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I agree on the animal shelter. They are hurting more than most right now so every dollar counts.

 

[simba928]

another vote for the humane society here. I work for a humane society and we really do appreciate every dollar that comes in. Like someone else said, the economy is really hurting our donations. And only are the donations down, we're taking in more animals. People can't afford to take care of their pets anymore or they're being forced to move and can't take their animals with them.

 

[JodyLynC]

Grocery stores often have boxes in the front of the store for different charities. Pet food for the Humane Society, canned or boxed goods for Food Banks, soaps/shampoos, etc for Women's Shelters, school supplies for Schools.

My girls love to take their $ and shop for these different charities. This allows them to choose exactly what is given.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

What is he interested in?

We have a wolf sanctuary here that one of my dd's is into.

Or you can save up to donate to the zoo and become a "zoo friends" member and receive coupons for parking/fees.

I would do a bit of research.

 

[Mkrop]

I like the idea of saving up and then donating the bigger amount.

Salvation Army works now.

The grocery stores around here always have the little coupons hanging or they ask if you want to donate to the Food Bank, St Jude's, Make a Wish etc. I wonder if they would ring up his $1 donation and scan the coupon, and then he might even be able to write his name on the star or the shoe etc. My kids love to do that.

 

[C.Ann]

St. Jude Children's Hospital.. Every dollar counts! If you prefer, he could do it monthly..

 

[lspst8]

DonorsChoose.org

They help schools with hard to fund projects. You can choose projects by location, subject matter, etc .... Some of the inner-city and extemely rural schools don't even have money for pencils! It's all online and you can donate as much or as little as you want.

Bonus if you donate the money to complete the project --- a few months later you get thank-yous from the kids in the mail. The teacher usually sends an email right away with picture of the class too. I love it.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would get 3 identical piggy banks. Label each one "savings" "charity" "spend". Then when the savings is full, deposit it into an account, when the charity is full, donate it to his place of choice. It will also teach him how to save the money that he gets to spend to accumulate for something "bigger".

Great idea!

 

[Missy1961]

What a wonderful idea! and so many good ideas here. I'd do a mixture of saving up & making a $10 donation & making a dollar donation here & there. I know that most stores will take a $1 for whatever charity, and then your DS could write his name on the thing they hang up. But whatever he chooses to do, it's all good.

 

[golfgal]

http://www.lyoncountyhearttoheart.com/

This is a Minnesota Charity and I know that he will receive a hand-drawn thank you card for his donation. EVERY DIME is appreciated. PM me if you want more details. This is a charity that is very near and dear to me.

 

[Snoopymom]

Great idea! DS likes to put money into boxes the McDonalds have by their registers for the Ronald McDonald Houses.

 

[LJC1861]

Group Homes!!! Any group home serving any population would LOVE to get any kind of donation, even $1. The agency I work for here in NC serves teens and adults with autism and with cutbacks from Medicaid we are always looking for ways to raise extra money.

I also LOVE the idea of animal shelters and all of the ideas mentioned by previous posters. It is never too early to start kids on the road to saving and giving to charity.

Linda

 

[HamTown]

The Money Savvy piggy bank has 4 chambers (save, spend, donate, invest). It's a great way to teach managing money, IMO.

Also, coinstar machines don't take a cut of donations. Check their website and you'll find which organizations your local machine will donate to. (Unicef is usually one.)

Thanks for teaching kids the benefits of giving!

 

[Boo'sMom]

DonorsChoose.org

They help schools with hard to fund projects. You can choose projects by location, subject matter, etc .... Some of the inner-city and extemely rural schools don't even have money for pencils! It's all online and you can donate as much or as little as you want.

Bonus if you donate the money to complete the project --- a few months later you get thank-yous from the kids in the mail. The teacher usually sends an email right away with picture of the class too. I love it.

donorschoose is a fabulous organization!!!

 

[Minnesota!]

Thank you for the donorchoose suggestion! I popped over there and read a bunch of stories. Ended up completeing the request for a school in MD that was looking for an attendance reward program! HOW AWESOME!!!!

 

[happygirl]

I think that is a wonderful thing to do.

I would suggest a charity that deals with children, I like the Ronald Mcdonald house.