How to Give to Charity Using Your Credit Card

When you think about donating, you might think about the Salvation Army Santas or Sally Struthers’ "Feed the Children!" advertisements on television. What you might not think about are all the ways you can maximize your charity giving with your credit card.

Here are four quick and convenient ways to give to charity with your credit card:

Set Up Automatic Donations

One of the easiest ways to give to charity is to use your credit card to set up automatic payments to the cause of your choice. Most non-profit organizations will have this kind of payment system set up and you get the benefit of giving without having to think too much about it.

Canadahelps.com is a great site for connecting people with a cause you can care about. You can search their database by interest or keyword and pick from a wide variety of charities you want to support. Each organization has a brief description and options for both one time and monthly donations. They do take a 1.8% fee when you donate through their site but you still receive a tax receipt for a 100% of your donation.

Donate Your Rewards Points

Did you know that you can get more than just free groceries and discounts on your gas with your rewards credit card. You can now donate your points to a good cause. Why not put some of those rewards to work and give to others? This can be a great way to donate and it won't cost you a thing.

You will have to do a little more research into this option because not every loyalty program offers this kind of flexibility. The Aeroplan program has Beyond Miles, a website that allows you to search for your favourite charity and donate points. If you have a different rewards card, call your credit card company and ask how to donate points.

Give with GoodSearch

According to GoodSearch.com, people spend over $300 billion on e-commerce each year. If even 3 percent of that could be channeled towards charitable causes, that would mean an annual gift of $90 million for non-profits across the country.

You can use GoodSearch.com to browse the web and raise a penny for every search or you can register for your favourite charity and shop through their portal and donate money every time you buy online. Search their database for Canadian coupons, get a deal on your online shopping and pay with your credit card. Win, win, and win!

Credit Card Micro-financing with Kiva

Lend money to those who need the extra help to get their business started. Read about the borrowers to find your favourite, make the loan and wait for payback.

You can choose to make the loan with or without interest. If you donate with your credit card, choose to loan with interest and watch your donation pay itself with interest. What’s really cool about Kiva is that 100% of your money goes to the borrower.

So there you have it! It doesn’t matter whether you want to support breast cancer research or save the animals, you can do it all with your credit card. Happy giving!

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