People generally want to give back and make a positive impact for the underprivileged among us, but not everyone has the financial wherewithal to do that. Fortunately, there are numerous ways—aside from giving money—to improve communities, help individuals, support great causes, and ultimately make a difference.

Donate Time and Volunteer

Nonprofits often operate on tight budgets and can’t hire as many employees as they need or want, but if you volunteer your time, you are helping them achieve their missions. What’s more, as you make your direct, hands-on impact for those in need, you’re likely to discover that friendships and valuable human connections will follow.

Volunteering could be as simple as passing out supplies at a food pantry, or cooking up treats for a bake sale. If you have specialized skills, you can certainly leverage those. For instance, a web developer could build out a website for a nonprofit—saving them a lot of money in the process. Such an in-kind contribution could thereby boost awareness of the nonprofit’s services, while freeing up funds to directly help those in need.

If you’re looking for an organization to volunteer with, Jewish Family Service will always be grateful for your assistance.

Lend a Hand on Social Media

One of the simplest ways you can support an organization or agency is to champion them on social media. Many nonprofits have set up profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other similar platforms. Simply engaging with a nonprofit, and sharing their posts, will help spread news about the good work they’re doing. Raising awareness is always good, in and of itself, but it can also increase the possibility that others—such as neighbors, friends, and family—will be motivated to give monetarily.

Donate Goods and Services

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, food banks and pantries were overwhelmed with demand as people lost jobs and fell on hard times. Thankfully, people and companies across the country stepped up to provide basic essentials.

One way to help is to examine your home’s cabinets or pantry from time to time, and see if there’s any dry or canned food that you’re not likely going to get around to eating. If there is, donate it! This can also be said for old or stored furniture; cooking utensils; textiles packed in the attic, basement, or linen closet; abandoned musical instruments, and more. Perhaps you’ve got an old car gathering dust in your garage. If it’s not getting much use, you might consider donating it so the proceeds could be used to help others who need it.

Make Financial Donations

Money is, and likely always will be, a critically important way to give and make your impact felt. This is especially true for nonprofits because they can’t sell goods or services to raise funds. They rely, instead, on grants, donations, and other forms of assistance—from donors, foundations, corporations, and governments. Nonprofits often struggle to keep administration and facility costs low, while still maintaining their positive impact for the communities they serve. 

For those who can’t presently afford to give money, a wonderful option to provide future financial assistance is to set up a legacy donation. A legacy fund will donate to a nonprofit or charity only after you have passed away. The benefits will go to the organization you love and support, but in a way that is less painful to your current financial life.

It’s becoming increasingly popular for today’s companies to offer rewards programs that automatically send a percentage of your qualified purchases to the nonprofit of your choice. Interestingly, you don’t have to spend any money to steer these funds to the recipients. You simply designate a nonprofit that is important to you, like Jewish Family Service, and that organization will automatically receive funds raised through the purchasing process. Kroger’s Community Rewards program and Amazon Smile are both popular programs, and excellent examples of this type of giving.

Contact Your Local Nonprofits to Learn More

Different organizations will typically have varying needs, so if you’re interested in getting involved in your community, you should consider reaching out to area nonprofits to ask how you could help. Applying a small amount of your personal effort, today, could make a huge difference for someone else, tomorrow. If you’re not sure where to start, we’d love you to reach out to Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati. We can quickly get you connected to the programs in our community that match up with your interests. To get started, contact us online or give us a call at 513-469-1188.