What's a good, trustworthy online charitable cause that I can donate to in $1 increments?

December 19, 2008 4:20 AM

What's a good, trustworthy online charitable cause that I can donate to in $1 increments?

I don't like giving money to homeless panhandlers because I feel that panhandling is a blight on communities and because I think my money could be more effectively applied toward other, more deserving charitable ventures.

But I never actually end up donating to other causes, and that's something I'd like to change. I want to start donating $1 to an online charity whenever a homeless person asks me for money.

I'm looking for a website that I can donate to, $1 at a time. Can you think of any worthy causes with secure sites?

posted by JamesJD to computers & internet (6 comments total)

It is my understanding that few people accept micropayments by credit card as there is a fee per transaction which can make it not worthwhile. If the fee is 20 cents plus 2% of the transaction value, a payment of $1 leaves the charity with just 78 cents (78% of what you paid).

You could get a jar or 'piggy bank' and place $1 in it when you want to, then when it contains $20 or so make a donation of $20. Then with the same processing fee structure the charity would get $19.40 (97% of what you paid) which is better for both them and you.
posted by Mike1024 at 4:52 AM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]

I work for a non-profit and as Mike1024 said, with the processing fee we wouldn't get much with a $1 donation, unfortunately. Also we had trouble with someone with a stolen credit card putting through $1 charges on our donation form, so it'd raise our suspicions. It's a great idea--maybe do as Mike says and save up? Good luck.
posted by jdl at 6:14 AM on December 19, 2008

Piggy bank.
posted by unixrat at 6:34 AM on December 19, 2008

The overhead involved in something like that might almost render your gift useless or even a hassle. At one non-profit I am familiar with, a thank-you letter goes out after each donation, for example.

You'd be better off with the piggy bank or having a high-yield savings account that you can easily transfer money into. Then you can add a dollar to your heart's content AND get some interest as well. Or paypal the money to yourself, if you want to really feel like you're sending the money somewhere. Once or twice a year, or whenever the account hits some pre-determined level, cut a check to the organization of your choice.
posted by ml98tu at 6:40 AM on December 19, 2008

Like the others, not answering the question, but could you donate cash to a charity every time a homeless man asks you for money? There are countless restaurants and stores that have little donation boxes in them to collect funds for whatever. The ones in random corner grocery stores make me suspicious, since they're often charities I haven't heard of and I suspect some middleman takes most the money out of them, but every McDonald's collects for Ronald McDonald's Children's Charities and/or Ronald McDonald Houses, and whatever you might think of McDonald's food, those seem to be legitimate, worthy organizations. You could duck into one of these ubiquitous chain restaurants and drop your dollar in the donation bin just as easily as logging in and sending it to a charity via the internet in most cities.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:13 AM on December 19, 2008

It's not online, but the salvation army buckets will certainly take your micropayment donations. It's a relatively good charity.

When I made up my mind that I wanted to start giving more to charity, I setup a new bank account that I auto-transfer money into each paycheck. then at the end of the year, I empty out the account and dole it out to charities I like. Alternatively, you may be able to have your local United Way chapter take money directly from your paycheck with the help of your workplace.

If you specifically are motivated to give based on the requests of homeless people, there's almost definately a local organization working to feed, clothe, and shelter the homeless.
posted by garlic at 9:12 AM on December 19, 2008 [1 favorite]