Top 10 Effortless Ways to Support a Good Cause

Even the smallest actions can make a big difference. Turn things you might be doing anyway—from shopping to traveling—into good deeds that improve the lives of others.

10. Raise Money Every Time You Search the Web

Previously mentioned Goodsearch raises a penny for your cause every time you search the web from its site. Searches are powered by Yahoo. Through the site, you can also raise up to 30% of your purchases and up to 6% of your restaurant dining at participating partners for charities such as Unicef, United Way, American Red Cross, and Feeding America.

9. Turn Loose Change into Charitable Donations

SwipeGood rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar and gives the change to the charity of your choice. All that change adds up, and you can put a limit on the amount donated. Of course, you can also do this yourself manually by taking your jar of coins to a Coinstar and turning it into a charitable donation, but SwipeGood is a more passive and automatic method.

You can also use Google's One Today app on Android or iOS whenever you're feeling generous and give just $1 to the charity of the day.

8. Go on a Volunteer Vacation

This one's not quite "effortless," but by booking a volunteer vacation both you and the community you visit to lend a helping hand benefit. You can save a ton of money on your travel and have some amazing experiences all while supporting a good cause.

7. Fund a Micro Loan Through Kiva

Previously mentioned Kiva enables you to give a loan (as little as $25) to a small business in developing countries. Choose to help a group of farmers in Vietnam buy a new lawn mower, for example, or a health group in Kenya install chlorine dispensers for safe drinking water. You'll get progress reports on the project and your money back months after the loan (no interest accumulated, though. There is a risk you won't get repaid, but 98.82% of Kiva loans have been repaid). It's a way to lend a helping hand to those in need without really spending money or time.

6. Start Your Shopping at iGive

There are plenty of portals where you can start your online shopping, but iGive gives a percentage of your purchase at over 1,000 stores to the charity of your choice (an average of 3% donated). A browser add-on automatically activates iGive when you're at a participating store and also shows you coupons and offers for the store.

5. Buy Awareness Branded Items

A portion of profiles from the sale of Product(RED) merchandise goes to fight AIDS in Africa; Apple recently introduced (RED) iPad and iPhone accessories, and announced products bought on CyberMonday—World AIDS Day—or select apps bought through Dec. 7 would contribute to (RED). Similar charities, notably Susan G. Komen for the Cure, partner with companies to provide products that support their important causes.

4. Use a Matching Gift Program to Double Your Donations

You can make your charitable donations go further with matching donation offers. Many companies match or even double or triple employees' donation amount—so you can give more to the charity with less money. Matchinggifts.com lets you search for companies with this program, but you could also just ask your HR department. Also, often charities will mail special "matching gift" offers—those are great times to plan your charitable giving.

3. Shop at Amazon Smile

If you're going to shop at Amazon anyway, why not have part of your purchase automatically go to charity? That's what Amazon's program AmazonSmile does. Just head to the site every time you shop Amazon and it's just like shopping on Amazon, except better—0.5% of your purchase goes to the charity of your choice.

2. Donate Your Computer's Idle Time

Your computer's idle time can be donated to the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing project (BOINC) for research purposes, everything from find cures for diseases to searching for extraterrestrial life. When we find aliens, you might feel a bit of pride that your computer played a part in its spare time.

1. Go for a Run, Walk, or Bike Ride

Exercise is good for you, and it turns out your movement could also be good for charity. Charity Miles is a free Android or iPhone app that raises 10 to 25 cents per mile for a charity you select (walkers and runners earn up to 25¢ per mile; bikers earn up to 10¢ per mile.) This is possible through corporate sponsorships of the app. It doesn't have to be just walking or biking either; the site's FAQs say: "Skipping, skating, hop[p]ing, rolling and all other human-propelled activities are perfectly acceptable."

There are many more ways you can give back without donating lots of money or spending too much time. Hopefully some of the above will inspire you as we move into the season of giving (and all year round).

Photo by Tashatuvango (Shutterstock).

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