When you make a donation to a nonprofit, you’ll probably get this message afterward: Does your company match donations? Check and see if you can double your impact today!
Inbox Collective, sadly, is probably a long way away from being able to do that.
Still, it always feels good to find ways to give back. Here are three I’ve been doing a lot of during the pandemic:
1.) Find an organization to volunteer with — I’ve been volunteering with Invisible Hands, a nonprofit here in New York that delivers groceries to needy families. I have a car, so it’s easy to take a few hours on a Saturday, pick up groceries, and drop them off to families in need. (And, during the pandemic, it’s felt like a safe way to help out my neighbors.) If you’re looking for volunteer opportunities, check out Idealist — you’ll find organizations near you that are looking for volunteers.
2) Donate blood — Finding time to give back can be a challenge, but donating blood is one way to help that doesn’t require a ton of time, and there’s probably a Red Cross drive happening near you this week. Donating costs nothing, usually takes less than 30 minutes, and might save someone’s life.
3) Donate to causes you care about — During the pandemic, I was so moved by stories about food banks that helped millions of Americans put food on the table during a time of need. So I made donating to food banks one of my core causes. Every time we travel somewhere, I find a local food bank in that area, using Feeding America‘s site, and donate whatever I can to the cause.
Give what you can when you can. Everyone wants to be able to do more — but whatever you can do right now, it’s more than enough.
———
That photo of donations at a food bank in Australia was taken by Nico Smit for Unsplash.