How to Get Freebies, Savings by Giving to Charity
Giving to those in need is obviously a good thing. And while you may need a moment to recover from that bold and daring statement, the holiday season already is upon us. That means it’s what economists refer to as The Giving Season. Charitable donations spike around November and December, coinciding with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and several other winter and end-of-year celebrations. Do you know what else is a good thing? Free stuff, of course, and we’ve got a list of charity freebies and savings to further incentivise a giving attitude.
How to Get Charity Freebies and Savings
There are several material and financial benefits in giving to charity. There are, of course, tax benefits. However, many organizations also drum up support by offering special gifts to thank those who help out their cause. From free movie tickets and gift cards to tax deductions, here is a list of some organizations that offer incentives and benefits to those who give to others.
Tax Benefits
Few things take people out of the holiday mood like thinking on taxes due a few months after the festivities wrap up. However, charitable donations are a well-known potential source for tax deductions. A tax deduction can be used to lower your overall taxable income. With charitable donations, you need to itemize your donations — that is, you need to list each of them individually instead of claiming a standard deduction.
However, as we will be talking about both charity freebies and savings, you cannot include the gift in the deduction. If you received a $20 gift card for donating $50, you can only deduct $30 on your tax return. Secondhand stores, such as Goodwill and The Salvation Army stores, also offer guides to calculate tax deductions on items donated to them.
Blood Drives
Donating blood is a vital charitable action that helps millions every day. Giving blood can leave you a bit light-headed, so blood drives usually provide donors with a small, sugary snack to revitalize them. This may be a cookie or some orange juice, but you can also recover with a good movie.
OneBlood, one of the larger blood banks and the creators of the Big Red Bus campaign, offers two free movie tickets and an extra gift. That may be merchandise like fleece blankets, T-shirts, reusable cups or a $20 e-gift card.
The Red Cross also offers a rotating variety of gifts to blood donors. These have included $10 gift cards, Fandango movie tickets and similar merchandise to OneBlood.
Toys For Tots
What would the holiday season be without a toy drive? Toys For Tots is one of the most celebrated charities around the holiday season, helping children in need have a happy holiday by collecting toys to give to them. Its toy drives take place nearly everywhere — in schools, restaurants, stores and places of business across the country once the holiday season starts ramping up.
The Toys For Tots model is more decentralized than some other organizations. It relies on various places of business to serve as sponsors. So while there is no one uniform reward for donating, there’s a variety of interesting prizes. Restaurants have been known to give incentives to donors, while one community toy drive in Pompano Beach is raffling off free rides in the Goodyear Blimp. As far as the usual charity freebies and savings, that certainly deserves points for originality.
WWF
The World Wildlife Fund is one of the largest conservation groups in the world, working to protect endangered species since 1961. While they offer a gift shop where all proceeds go to their charitable efforts, they also offer free gifts with each donation. The fun part is, based on the size of your donation, you can also choose the gift you want.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude is a nonprofit center that offers free health care and treatment to children with debilitating diseases. The organization helps save the lives of thousands of children every year and provides vital research on incurable diseases. You can help through standard monetary donations, but its gift shop can also help you save money while doing good.
The St. Jude official gift shop has apparel, scented candles, Christmas ornaments and more available, with all proceeds going to its mission. The ornaments and candles are not only beautiful, they are also more affordable than items you may find elsewhere. So instead of shopping at Yankee Candle or Hallmark, you can save money and give to a good cause by checking out St. Jude.
Other Ways To Score Charity Freebies and Savings
There are plenty of other ways to help out without lightening your own purse. This can include everything from donating old clothes and blood drives, which we have covered here, to volunteering for food banks and helping people find new jobs.
Be sure to check out smaller, local charities as well for similar offers to larger charities. Local food banks, churches, shelters and more regularly take part in community events providing free entertainment, food and merchandise for people who get involved.
There is also one other way to help out. You can work for a charitable organization. While charities operate as nonprofit organizations, they still have several roles that are paid positions, and there’s a lot of different jobs for people looking to make a difference. Websites like Indeed advertise several open positions for charities across the board.
William Fewox has worked as a freelance writer since 2017, and his work is featured in literary magazines such as The Aquarian, The Navigator and The Historian.
