Regular Charitablle Giving

[CamperInTriplicate]

I know I'm not being unreasonable in wanting to donate, just posting here for traffic.

I want to donate a regular monthly amount (not a lot as am not well off, but want to do my bit for society). Ideally I would like to choose a local charity, but it's proving really hard to find any information, and ones I can find don't have a way of accepting direct debits - I want to donate via DD as I have a very tight budget and need to stay on top of my outgoings. If I can't find a local one, then obviously I will have to choose a bigger institution, but am wary of the stories I have heard about wasted funds and high salaries paid.

So, any suggestions on how to make a good choice?

We sponsor 2 children directly through Oscar foundation I love it and can see the difference. We pay £25 each for them to stay in school

Thanks Parsley - sounds great but that is way more than I could afford on a regular basis

I chose one that means something to my family, in this case SANDS. It’s only £5 per month by DD and they’ve never hassled me to increase it like some charities I’ve heard do.

The issue for smaller charities is often the costs of accepting the direct debit - fifteen years ago, it would cost a charity about £2/2.50 a month for each D/D - so all those ads getting people to pledge £3/month were essentially loss leaders in the hope people would increase the amount in the following year. I'm not in that field now, so I don't have up to date costs - but there will be some.

If you would rather give closer to home, how about setting up an instant saver and putting your D/D there every month: you then transfer it over to your current account on the day you are planning to withdraw and donate - doesn't have to be every month that you do this, unless it suits you of course

If you have a local volunteering directory then it might help you find a local charity that would accept donations (as well as volunteers).

Do you have an idea of the type of charity you would like to support?

You could talk to the local charity and get their bank details and set up a monthly standing order to them. This does not cost them and makes your money go further.

You could try searching on Just Giving for charities with your town or county in the name. I understand that whist JG charges for its service it's still very cost effective for charities and you have the added benefit of them claiming Gift Aid tax relief which increases how much the charity gets.

Try givewell.org What's great about them is they focus on how much of your cash is actually used on the cause rather than overheads

Why not donate to a local food bank?