It’s important to find organizations that support causes that interest you. Charitable giving may sound great but is not feasible for everyone’s budget. Now giving to your favorite charity is easier than ever. The information below is not exclusive for Sickle Cell related charities, but for this post I will be encouraging people to donate to sickle cell charities because many are underfunded and the disease is a worldwide genetic disorder. This post is also #22 out of 30 in my #30forsicklecell project to help raise awareness about sickle cell disease. Sickle cell has many legitimate 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organizations that need more funding to provide advocacy and support for patients. More funding is always needed so below are several easy and safe ways to give donations to organizations by shopping online.
Ebay
If you sell items on eBay.com, you can give a portion of your proceeds to a charitable organization. There are a variety of sickle cell related charities on eBay.com. eBay users can donate directly or donate a percentage of the proceeds through “Giving Works.” Ebay makes it easy and safe to give with only a few clicks.
Amazon.com
The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate typically from 0.5% – 1.5% of the purchase price from the buyer’s eligible AmazonSmile purchases. In order to set your account up for donation you must remember to sign up in advance and authorize the donation. Once you go to smile.amazon.com you will be able to pick a charity, there you can type in the charities name or “sickle cell” subject search and over 187 results will appear. Once you select your charity of choice you will need to confirm that you want to support that charity. What’s great about Amazon Smile is that donating, will not cost a person extra on their purchase. Always check the upper left hand corner to confirm that you are supporting the donation you choose.
Good Search
Let’s say you want to buy a shirt, if you shop through GoodShop for example. The price and product will be exactly the same and you will still be able to buy from your favorite stores, but if you buy it using the links from GoodShop, then GoodShop will receive a commission and donate part of that to the charity you choose.
What is Good Search? According to their website they are “a simple way to make a difference — each time you search the web (though Yahoo!-powered Goodsearch), shop online (at the 2,800+ stores on Goodshop) or dine out (at 10,000 Gooddining restaurants), we’ll make a donation to your favorite cause. We know you have limited time and money and we’ve created our products to make giving back easy.” Sickle cell charities can be found under health and disease and choose the letter “s.”
iGive.com
Similar concept as Amazon and Good Search, to shop and donate the buyer has to go through iGive.com first. Login, select your charity, and then make your purchase. Here are a few Sickle Cell related charities on iGive.com.
Sometimes, people may not be able to give to organizations directly, this is an excellent and indirect way to help great causes achieve their goals by shopping through these online sites. It’s an easy way for your purchases to make a big impact.