5 ways to help while you shop online

Today online shopping has never been easier. You can shop 24/7, compare prices and avoid the queue. In recent times online shopping has evolved, and businesses have made it easier to support local charities as you shop. In most cases these services are free for you and the online shops themselves will pass on a share of their commission to your charity of choice.

Kidscan works a handful of online shops who participate in such activities. Take a look at the list below of the five ways to help while you shop online.

AmazonSmile

First up on the list is AmazonSmile, a website operated by Amazon to help you, help charities that little bit more at no extra cost to you. You will find the same prices, selections and shopping experience as you do on Amazon.

How it works is that you select your charity you want to support via AmazonSmile, and then you can begin to shop. After you have purchased through AmazonSmile, they will donate 0.5% of the purchase price. Time to time they may change offers to increase your donation contribute for a limited time.

TheGivingMachine

TheGivingMachine was born in 2006 by four Hertfordshire dads who wanted to find a way to help raise money for schools and charities. It is a registered charity set up to enable online shoppers to generate a free donation for their charity.

How it works is that TheGivingMachine receives a commission from online retailers for referring you to them. Once you’ve clicked from their site to the online retailers and made a purchase they then will pass on 70% of that commission, they make on to charities like Kidscan.

Give as You Live?

Giving as you Live is a fundraising platform that has access to over 4,000 stores that shop and raise money via their site. They aim to be the industry standard for innovative fundraising in the UK.

Giving as you Live is a similar model to TheGivingMachine in that they a receive commission from online retailers for referring you to their store. They donate 50% of their commission to the charity of your choice, and once you have placed your order, you will receive an email within 1 – 7 days to let you know how much you have raised.

eBay for charity

eBay for charity is fully integrated into the platform which makes it easy for you to support your cause. Since their launch in 1999, previously named ‘eBay Giving Works’ have raised in a joint effort with their community USD 84 M thus far.

If you are a seller on eBay or are looking to become one, then this is one way to help a charity that is closes to you. First, you pick your charity and the donation percentage (10% to 100% of the selling price).

Secondly, the item is sold and dispatched to your customer and last but not least the donation amount will be collected by PayPal Giving Fund from your Pay Pal account once a month.

Apart from helping out charities like Kidscan, your product will stand out among the rest with a unique charity ribbon icon. In addition to this once your item is sold, the value and listing fees will be discounted to the same percentage you have donated.

Example: You donated 20% to charity, you will receive a 20% discount on your final value and listing fees.

Give a Car?

Giveacar is UK’s first charity car donation service initially set up to give people an ethical and hassle-free way to get rid of their scrap car. Giveacar launched in 2010 with just seven cars a month to now handling up to 500 vehicles per month.

If you want to get rid of a scrap car of yours and want to help out a charity, this may be your best bet. All you need to do is get in contact with them either via filling out a form or calling in their office, your vehicle will then be picked up within a week and your car ready for the donation process.

Because it is a not-for-profit, it has running costs associated with it. Of the total proceeds raised they will take a 25% for a service fee if scrapped and an additional 5% if auctioned. This does not include the 5% VAT. Check out their page on how car donations work.

Conclusion

Whatever decision you choose helps your charity just that little bit extra. If you want to help out Kidscan while you shop online please read and choose one of our ways to shop.