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View Full Version : Simple - and cost-free - way to donate to NRM or others



HKPassey
10-31-11, 12:58am
Did you know that you can donate to NRM or another charity/non-profit of your choice, just by doing something you probably do frequently anyway? And with absolute frugality, since it doesn't cost a thing? Check out GoodSearch on the wiki at http://financialintegrity.org/index.php?title=GoodSearch to learn more.

When I came to the forums today, instead of typing the forum name into the address bar, I used the GoodSearch toolbar instead... and donated a penny in the process. Given the amount of stuff I search for in an average week, that could start adding up! With the holidays coming up, if you shop online for any of your gifts, check and see if GoodReads has a partnership (and maybe even some money-saving coupons) with some of your favorite retailers, and make a donation simply by shopping.

If this interests you, pass it on, and let's see how much we can do together.

cow-hi

Gardenarian
10-31-11, 4:25pm
Well, I'll give it a try! I have a holiday list on Amazon; it would be nice to be able to give twice!

Spartana
11-17-11, 12:45pm
Is there a way to donate incognito? The first time I donated to the old SLN Cyber Angels I used a credit card and next thing I knew my full name (first, middle, and last of my very unusual name) and hometown & state were listed on the Cyber Angels site AND out there in cyber space for anyone who googled me. It was the first thing that came on on any search engine when I googled it. Hated that!! So after that I donated anonymusly (sp?). Any way to do that?

redfox
11-17-11, 2:52pm
Is there a way to donate incognito? The first time I donated to the old SLN Cyber Angels I used a credit card and next thing I knew my full name (first, middle, and last of my very unusual name) and hometown & state were listed on the Cyber Angels site AND out there in cyber space for anyone who googled me. It was the first thing that came on on any search engine when I googled it. Hated that!! So after that I donated anonymusly (sp?). Any way to do that?

Spartana, donation directly to the non-profit of your choice, and specifying an anonymous gift, is the way. I like these alt donation options, but as a long time development person and now ED of a national organization, I would very much ask everyone to pledge cash to their favorite non-profits. We rely on individual donors to make our missions operational. The truth is, no money, no mission. Even if there are no paid staff, things like websites & direct services cost money.

My husband & I pledge $10 a month to a few organizations, resulting in a $120 annual gift for each. This seems like small potatoes; however, this level of giving is what suports the non-profit sector. The myth that non-profits are primarily supported by large gifts and foundations is just that, a myth. Every gift is a significant one!

One of the organizations we give to is the Women's Funding Alliance. They give grants to area groups that support women and girls, including the girls middle school our daughter attended. I know the ED and the Devo Director, and I know that they operate well, where the funds go, and that they make a real impact in my community in the areas I think are important. They communicate their mission and their impact in a way that assures me my gift makes a difference. I am a hard sell, too, being a long time fundraiser!

Significantly, I am not renewing my pedge to the organization I am leaving, as I cannot see the impact they make in the community, and I was on the inside! They have blown it with this donor (imagine how hard it has been to try to start a development function there... it has failed, IMHO).

It's always awesome to find non-cash ways to support your fav non-profit, of course! Please also consider adding some cash to your annual giving, even if it's a modest-in-your-eyes sum.

Thanks!

Spartana
11-17-11, 3:10pm
Thanks Redfox - I'll look up the various options and see how I can go about donating cash incognito. I wonder if there is a way to litterally donate cash rather than by CC, debt card, cashiers check or personal check? I guess that wouldn't be possible unless you took it to the NRM foundation (or whatever place I wantd to make a donation to) by hand. Cashiers check is probably the best way for a one-time donation. I see that the NRM site only allows for CC & Pay Pal (whatever that is) donations. Something I will not do, so would have to get a mailing address and do it by snail mail I guess. Getting harder and harder for us Luddites to get by in the Brave New World of technology :-)!

redfox
11-17-11, 9:02pm
Thanks Redfox - I'll look up the various options and see how I can go about donating cash incognito. I wonder if there is a way to litterally donate cash rather than by CC, debt card, cashiers check or personal check? I guess that wouldn't be possible unless you took it to the NRM foundation (or whatever place I wantd to make a donation to) by hand. Cashiers check is probably the best way for a one-time donation. I see that the NRM site only allows for CC & Pay Pal (whatever that is) donations. Something I will not do, so would have to get a mailing address and do it by snail mail I guess. Getting harder and harder for us Luddites to get by in the Brave New World of technology :-)!

Hey Spartana,
Thanks for pursuing making a gift in the ways you prefer. FWIW, online gifts are cheaper for the non-profit to process, thereby allowing them them to direct more of the gift towards direct programming. Simplifying giving is a constant quest for those of us who take stewardship of donor dollars seriously.

Once you find a non-profit you wish to support, make contact with them and ask them for help in making your gift your way. An org worth their salt will meet you where you want to be. In that vein, I encourage all donors to consider the value of giving to local organizations first! You could always meet a development officer in person and hand them cash. It may raise eyebrows, but you can explain that you choose to live in a cash household, and here is your gift. As a fundraiser, I'd simply say thank you!

End of year giving is so important to non-profits. I encourage everyone to specify your fav non-profit to family members for holiday gifts. When we got married, we had a website with links to all our specified non-profits as our gift registry. It was a total hit! We received many cards in the mail from great organizations with acknowledgements of gifts on our behalf. And we specified no other gifts... It was great.

I save the mail I get with asks from the orgs I want to give to, and hand them to family members who want to give me a gift, telling them that this is the gift I want. Ther are many creative ways to support good orgs in our community.

Blessings!

iris lily
11-17-11, 9:28pm
Some months ago I complained about not being able to just mail a freekin' check to my local NPR station because I could not find their address online on their website. That seems crazy, but at the time, I didn't find it. It certainly did not appear on their "donate" pages. But I suppose I needed to look at their "contact" button info on their website because today I see it is there.

I remember same thing for the old SLN website, it was tricky to find a mailing address for a check. Also, I forgot to specify No Premiums so I got whatever book they were handing out at the time and it was totally unwanted by me.

But I did send the most recent political contributions to Cain and Mitt through their websites because they've got to collect information on me, required by law.

Oh, and I don't bother with the business of web clicking or buying junk I don't need to get a donation to an organization I support, I just give them the money direct with no strings. Well, I don't give big enough donations to be able to dictate strings.:D Although I will say, there is an issue coming up in our community garden that may have me dangling a check in front of The Garden Diva in order to get my way. ha ha managing donor relations is a tricky business.

redfox
11-17-11, 10:07pm
Too funny, Iris. Good luck with that check dangling thing. ;-)

Jemima
11-18-11, 1:27am
Thanks for the tip! I just signed up and installed the toolbar.

Spartana
11-18-11, 5:47pm
Thanks for all the info Redfox. Guess I'll have to try the Iris Lily way and dangle my cash in front of people to get my way :-)! I generally collect things (like clothing for the homeless vets program, food, toys, beds for the humane society, food for the food bank, etc...) and in the past just mailed a check for cash donations. But that's hard to do now and I don't have home internet and use unsecured free wi-fi so never buy or donate on line using a CC. Will probably just continue to give to my local places (like the humane society) so that I can just bring in a check when I drop off my other "stuff" donations. Guess places like this site - which doesn't appear to have a mailing address - will have to wait until I catch up with all that gosh-darn high-falootin' new-fangled technology that all the kids are talking about nowaday. All that infernal internetty stuff - it's all just a fad I tell you, like the Charleston :-)!.