Charitable gifts are the new black

Have you ever given or received a charitable gift? Chances are you have, since 72 percent of Canadians have given or received one. A pretty remarkable number considering that’s up from 59 percent just last year.

The survey conducted on behalf of World Vision even found that 77 percent of people would actually prefer to receive a meaningful gift that would help someone else out instead of a traditional gift for themselves. Think about that as you start making your gift list and face the crowds at the malls this year – because the numbers say that 3/4s of the people you’re buying a gift for would actually be happier with a charitable gift they could pass on.

The thing about charitable gifts is that they often mean that the gift-giver chooses the charity that the receiver supports. In many ways, this is just like giving any other kind of gift – you’re making the best guess you can that what you’re giving is something they want to receive.

When guessing about a sweater for someone, it’s one thing; but to guess about a charity or cause that someone supports is something else entirely. Giving a charitable gift through Chimp actually takes the guesswork out of it. You can send them the gift, and they get to choose which charity to support themselves. It’s kind of like the gift card of the charity world – you not only give them a gift, but you give them choice.

This is how you’d do it:

1. Sign onto Chimp and click “Send Money” at the top of the page.
2. Choose “Your Friends and Family.”
3. Enter the amount of the gift and the person’s email address.
4. Include a personal message with your gift.
5. Press “Continue” then confirm the details and it’s off.

Still not sure if your people would actually like to get a charitable gift instead of an … electric razor? How about this last stat for you then: 63 percent of Canadians say there is nothing they really need for the holidays this year.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of people in need that you don’t know. And your people could give their gift onto them through charities of their choice. And you can avoid the mall.