What is a gift? A gift is something we give
from our hearts. We may give it to someone we know, a family member, one
of our children, a co-worker - or we may give it to a total stranger, a beggar
on the street, a victim of a natural disaster, a refugee from war, an orphaned
child, or
a victim of AIDS.
Expert Gifter
Sometimes we want to give, but we don't know how. How do
we give to a homeless person in our home town? How do we give to an orphan in a foreign
country? Can we give a personalized gift such as a
blanket or
food?
Is giving money to non-profit organizations going to get the needed goods to the
people in need? How do we know if an organization is legitimate and will
truly give our gifts to the needy? Read on to become an Expert Gifter.
Fortunately, the Internet has a lot of useful information to
help us select appropriate gifts for someone we know or someone in need that
we've never met. Although most non-profit organizations prefer cash
donations and many decline non-cash gifts, we have identified many non-profit organization with websites
that can receive our gifts and find a way of giving them to persons in need.
Many of these organizations also offer wish lists of items that are needed to serve the
targeted recipients and also supplies or equipment to help operate the
organization. These items may be identified by different terms such as a
gift in kind, gift-in-kind, GIK, material gift, material donation, non-cash gift or in-kind gift.
Whatever it's called, it is something we personally selected,
made, collected or purchased, often with sentimental value, to give to someone
in need. Although it's the thought that counts, we also want to make sure
that it's more than that to the person in need. Most of the wish list
items are included in the Gifts Directory which links to online stores.
Use the
2GiveNow Superstore as a handy
price-comparison reference for your gift purchase shopping from major
marketplaces and brands. More than 60 ways to choose a gift are also listed on
the Gifts Directory List for handy reference.
There are many persons in need in just about every corner of the
world, including wealthy countries like the USA. We often think of people
in need during the cold winter months, but fail to consider their needs
throughout each season of the year. There are also a number of websites with helpful
Giving Resources and gift selection guidance for
various need categories as listed below. Through these portals, we don't have to identify a
particular person, nor does the recipient have to know who we are. All
we have to do is buy gifts or select material goods in our possession, or
excess products from our company, and ship them to the Giving Resources with
appropriate
instructions or sentiments.
We can optionally include a personal message
or label that we attach to our gifts. In many cases, the personal
sentiment may mean more to the recipient than the gift itself. As said above, a gift is something we give from our hearts. Shipping goods
to distant areas or foreign countries may cost a lot of money; this is why we
need to carefully review the guidance provided by the Giving Resources.
Donor's Choice
As gift donors, the choice is ours! We may send material gifts, money or
both! Before we start buying or collecting materials to donate, we should
make contact with the intended recipient organizations to make sure that the
products are needed and can be handled as shipped. A good set of
guidelines on in-kind or material donations is presented by the American Council
for Voluntary International Action at
Interaction.org. Many local charities will be glad to talk with us
about our intended donations and what is needed in the community. The
local phone book lists many charities and we can also use the new
Google "Local"
search tool for charities in a particular city or ZIP code.
For large corporations, giving excess products may reduce inventory
costs as well as help a lot of people in need, as long as the products are
routed carefully to the right targets. Most of the organizations listed will be glad to discuss our
preferences and sentiments by phone or e-mail for both individual donors and
large corporations. Click on one of the special needy groups listed below to see the types of
gifts that are generally recommended for people in need based on the specific
category. Each listed site will also identify specialized organizations or
Giving Resources that can handle our gifts and make sure they get to the intended persons.
Thoughts About Giving: It is when you give of
yourself that you truly give -- Thomas Fuller