How To Give To Charity When You Don't Have Money To Spare

Given the current economic climate, it goes without saying that many people are having to make very difficult decisions, cutting back on spending and going without anything not strictly essential. For some, that means some hard choices about charitable donations: if you're a regular or occasional contributor to good causes, you might be seriously curtailing your gifts.

This can have a negative effect on you. However, if you value being able to help others and contribute, you may feel upset or even guilty that you're no longer in a position to do so. Or perhaps you've rarely or never given to charity in the past, but you've been moved by the suffering caused by the financial crisis - yet you yourself have little money to give.

The good news is that there are a number of ways you can make a real difference, without much money. Here are three ways that you could put into practice today, whatever your financial circumstances. Why not give one a try?

Even $1 Is Worth Giving
You might not be able to contribute $20/month to a good cause, but how about $5 or $2? Foregoing a Starbucks latte once a month could give you enough for this.

Here in the UK, the recent Comic Relief fundraising (with thousands of events around the country, and a televised all-evening event in March) raised £57 million by the end of the televised event - that's a record-breaking figure, and an enormous amount of money for people in desperate need. However, with a UK population of 60.9 million, it's less than one pound (approx $1.45 at current exchange rates) for every person in the UK.

Remember that next time you think that your $1 or $2 bill won't make any difference. It's like voting; each individual's act may be as insignificant as a single drop of water, but add those drops together and you have a ...

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