What are the different types of donations you can make?

Donating to charity does not have to be boring.

You can choose to donate in many different ways in order to make a difference, and not all of these ways have to include money.

You can choose to donate your time to an animal shelter or donate clothes and nonperishable food to a disaster relief charity.

Be sure to ask the organisation what they need first, however, before making any form of donation.

When you are deciding on charitable donations to make, you should look for one which best suits what you can contribute. For example, a small business could make a monetary donation to a local cause, or a family could gather some gently used clothes to donate to charity. You could even create a fundraiser event for a local nonprofit organisation. Not sure where to start? Below are just some of the ways in which you can donate to a non-profit or charity.

Monetary donations

Donating funds to a charity is a popular way to donate. But this does not make it any less impactful and rewarding. You can choose to donate via an online donation platform or you could go directly into the organisation’s offices and give them cash instead.

Before you make this type of donation, take a look at the organisation’s website and see what they need help with. If an animal shelter is in need of a vet bill being paid, you can donate to the right account based on the information they give. Or if a disaster relief fund needs to fly out medical supplies, they might have an account set up with a funding platform to raise money. Researching beforehand is key to a successful donation to any in-person or online fundraising.

Asset donations

For those who might have retirement accounts, life insurance policies or even physical assets like antique paintings or jewellery, you can donate these to charity in order to leave a legacy or to alleviate your estate tax and to receive a deduction for charitable contributions.

Asset donations are helpful for both parties, as the charities can auction off any valuable paintings or jewellery or they could keep them and allow them to accrue value over time. And the retirement accounts or life insurance policies will help them to use the money for their financial needs. The tax deduction for these assets will be larger if they relate directly to the charity, but do not focus only on the tax deduction side of this donation. Think about how it can help the organisation reach their goals.

Clothes, food or vehicle donations

After monetary donations, donating clothes, food or even vehicles is the second most popular options. But you will have to be sure that all of your clothes are still wearable and clean, that the food is non-perishable and new and that the car you want to donate is still in good running order.

These types of donations are the best choice for children’s homes and animal shelters, but you can also offer clothes and food to disaster relief foundations too. If your old car is not in ship-shape, you could donate gently used appliances or second-hand furniture. Organisations are always looking for items they can use or even raffle off to help to raise funds. Before you go looking through your garage or storage shed, ask the charity what they are looking for in terms of physical donations.

Real estate donations

If you or a family member owns a property that is not being used, it can be donated to charity. Upon death, the estate will be given to the charity and they will take ownership of the property.

The organisation can use the property as a secondary location if they need more space or as offices for their staff. Or they could opt to sell it off for funding for a project in the future. You will need to speak to a legal team about leaving the property to a charity, especially if there are outstanding repayments on a bond or if there is any debt remaining on a home loan. Charities that could use this type of donation are children’s homes and homeless shelters. Having another property for those in need will make a huge difference to many lives.

Give with your heart

Donating to charity should be done with good intentions in mind. While you will receive a tax deduction, this should not be the sole reason for making charitable donations. You should try to donate in a meaningful way.

This can be by giving a monetary donation to a disaster relief organisation, giving gently used clothes to a children’s home, and looking into a real estate donation of a property that might not be in use. Whatever you decide to give, make sure it is something the charity can use to reach their goals.