Most Popular Ways of Giving to a Charity in the UK - Payroll Giving Centre

Donate what you barely need

We all have some items that we do not use in our homes. Such things may include furniture, sports gear, toys, and clothes. Instead of throwing them away after using them, choose the ones that are gently used and unwanted, and donate them to the myriad charity shops, many of which are established by the charities themselves or other charitable organizations. Your heart settles and feels at peace whenever you move to fill a gap in someone’s life.

Give less used items in your home

Give less used items in your home

Giving to charity is a wonderful way to express love to the less fortunate in society. In addition to helping others, once you give the less used items in your home, you help de-clutter your house. In order to be sure that you are managing your giveaways properly, make sure that you move from one selection to another.

Think about the charity too

Choose the items you want to donate

Choose the items you want to donate

It is not advisable to combine all the categories together since you may find yourself donating some things that you need or donating others in a more deplorable condition. Begin at the basement. Open all the closets and other enclosed spaces where you think there are things to donate. Think about the charity too. Ask yourself what kind of charity they actually do and try to identify those things likely to be either used directly by its intended recipients, or sold on their behalf. Sort them into categories since not every charitable organization needs every type of item usually found in a family’s home. It is also important to involve your family so that sorting of the clutter may be easy and speedy.

Spare some of your precious time for charity

There are people who are very generous with their time. They will give much of their time to assist the less fortunate in society. Take for instance Canadians many of whom do give generously in terms of voluntary effort, not just material goods, to charity:

"Statistics in Canada indicate that the Canadians spent over 2 billion hours in voluntary work. This is over and above the items that they gave to charity as well as the fundraisers that were conducted in the nation to aid in charity."

Donate your time and skills

Some of the ways of giving time to charity include serving on a board (committee) that helps in charity work, mentoring and teaching, serving, delivering, or collecting foodstuffs, assisting with office administration work, and offering advice and counselling. Sparing a few hours in your busy schedule may be of utmost importance to the charitable organizations. There are many opportunities in the United Kingdom for one to participate in charity work. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) was set up in 1824 to assist those stranded in shipwrecks, at a time when travelers in the UK had less variety of means to transport. They now continue to provide lifeboat assistance to those in difficulty at sea, and through their various hands-on educational programs, actively support the local communities where they are based. It is also prudent to offer your time to a cancer foundation such as Macmillan Cancer Support.

Donate your time and skills

Donate your time and skills

Donate your money

Most of the charities operate under stringent financial times. They have numerous competing priorities which cannot fit in the meagre funds that they have. Charity work often requires a lot of money for it to run smoothly. As such, it is advisable to visit your favourite charities and give some money. Most of the charitable organizations have websites where you can donate even the smallest amount. Whatever money is donated to charity never goes to waste. You could also commit yourself to giving a certain amount every month or any period that you feel comfortable with. The numerous administrative costs that these organizations run on make them to cripple in their day to day running if no one commits to chipping in.

Commit to donate some food to ease hunger pangs

There are still many people across the UK who have inadequate food to eat and most of them will rely on charitable organizations to get food. Others have put their trust on the food reserves in the UK. While these are measures to ease hunger, the number of people in need of food outweighs the food available. It is therefore advisable to offer help in terms of food as it goes a long way to erasing malnutrition in several families. With the UK having over 10 million people who live below the poverty line, the majority of them rely on food banks. You can donate foodstuffs to the Trussel Trust partners, and your donation will reach the target population. Charity work involves a whole variety of activities that eventually help to lift a pressing need on a section of the populace.