Do you know that there is an opportunity for you to give back in almost everything you do?  I want to share with you some ways to give, without spending any more than you already spend.  I know the economy is tough and everyone is tightening their belts, however, there are some simple ways to help others with activities you do every day.  Do you shop online?  Do you search online?  Do you have a small amount of money you could give that would keep helping people over and over, with no further investment?

If you shop online, you can sign up for iGive.com.  This site allows you to choose a cause to donate to (or set up a new one if the one you want is not on there).  Then, whenever you buy online from any vendor set up with them, it earns donations for your cause.  Each vendor decides their contribution amount, usually a percentage of the amount you spend.  Some are as high as 13.6%!  There are over 728 online merchants that participate in this program.  There is a simple application you install that tracks when you visit the listed merchants to make sure you get credit for your purchases.  There is also a search application you can install that generates donations every time you search for something on the internet, how many times a day do you do that?  Wouldn't it be great if you could be raising money for a worthy cause every time you search or shop?

I recently heard of another search engine that generates donations, GoodSearch.com.  They help over 76,000 non-profits and schools through this site.  They also have a shopping/donation feature.  From my research, the causes listed on this site have to be a non-profit, on iGive, you can list any cause, there would just be no tax deduction for those donations.  There may be other sites/companies offering this service, but these are the two I am familiar with at this time.

If you work for a large company, just think about the huge impact you could make by installing one of these on every computer in your business.  You could choose a 'company-wide' cause, or let each person choose their own cause, which may help boost morale since they will feel good about the donation, but it didn't cost them or the company anything extra.  If everyone used these services, the amount of donations generated would be amazing.  If you own a business and would like to be part of the program, you can sign up as well to donate a percentage of your profits, what a great way to give back and get some exposure for your business. 

Another way to give back is with sites such as kiva.org.  Through this site, you can invest a small amount of money, $25 or more, and choose who you want to help with that money.  The person or business you help, then pays back the loan, the money goes back in your account with Kiva and you can loan it out again and again with a single investment.  This site helps people in other countries who need a small loan to help their business.  They learn to be financially responsible by repaying the loan. "Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty."  I believe there are other sites that have similar programs, but I personally have an account set up with Kiva.

These are just a few simple, inexpensive ways that  you can give back and help others.  Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas on ways to do that.  I look forward to hearing your ideas and feel free to share a story of an experience you have had using these or other methods for giving back.