10 Holiday Gift Ideas That Support Nonprofits

Here are some great ways for consumers to give back and for charities to get ideas on inspired programs that they might be able to implement.

From STAY CLASSY

Does your nonprofit have a holiday gift program? Maybe it should. For inspiration, check out these 10 organizations with creative holiday gift ideas.

With the holidays just around the corner, people are reaching for their gift lists and jumping head first into shopping mode. And because the holidays tend to bring out our altruistic nature, many nonprofits have set up holiday gift programs to encourage impactful giving.

Below we’ve compiled a list of 10 nonprofits that are offering unique, socially minded gifts this holiday season. Whether you are looking to give someone a meaningful gift or you are looking for inspiration for your own organization’s gift program, this list is a great place to start.

1. Make-A-Wish Foundation

 MAKE A WISH HOLIDAY CARDS

Make-A-Wish serves to strengthen and empower children battling life-threatening medical conditions by making their wishes a reality. Aside from the variety of merchandise available year-round on the organization’s website, you can purchase a customizable holiday cards with personalized messages. The cards are inspired by Wish Kids, and you can order them pre-packaged, assorted, in bulk, or with other options.

2. Oceana

 ANIMAL ADOPTION PACKS

Oceana is the largest international organization dedicated to ocean conservation. This year, you can gift a marine animal enthusiast a plush doll and cookie cutter, all while making the adoption of a sea creature possible. You can also send a card, reusable aluminum water bottle, or rope bracelet, with proceeds going directly to the organization.

3. Invisible Children

 CHILD RESCUE

Devoted to the rescue and rehabilitation of former child soldiers and to bringing international fugitive Joseph Kony to justice, Invisible Children invites you to help reunite 20 former child soldiers with their families this holiday season. Starting from $25, your donation can provide a play therapy kit for a returning child, a pathway to an education, or a journey home for an escaped child soldier.

4. Liberty in North Korea

HOLIDAY GIFT CARDS

LINK is pursuing an end to the humanitarian crisis in North Korea by providing rescue and resettlement support to North Korean refugees. In celebration of the 76 refugee rescues that were made possible this year, LINK has broadened their list of gift items, offering everything from T-shirts to totes to handmade holiday cards. 100% of the proceeds fund the organization’s mission.

5. The Adventure Project

A LUMP OF COAL

The Adventure Project raises awareness and funds to support the world’s most effective social enterprises in an effort to end extreme poverty. This Christmas, you can send a “lump of coal” (or rather, handmade soap) to someone who has made your nice list while providing one family in Haiti with a charcoal-efficient stove. We love this creative and deceptively hygienic gift idea.

6. Kiva

 KIVA CARDS

Pursuing its mission to alleviate poverty, Kiva works globally with micro-finance institutions to provide loans to people without access to traditional banking systems. By buying friends and family a Kiva Card, you’re introducing them to Kiva and allowing them to choose the borrowers – and stories – they want to support.

7. Action Against Hunger

GIFTS THAT SAVE LIVES

Action Against Hunger provides sustainable solutions to hunger in over 40 countries, and the holiday season is the perfect time to support the cause while honoring a loved one. Purchase a gift in the name of someone you care about and the money will go to buying provisions such as emergency therapeutic food, a dairy cow, or 1,000 days of childcare.

8. Heifer International

THE MOST IMPORTANT GIFT CATALOGUE IN THE WORLD

Working to empower impoverished families, Heifer International provides communities with sustainable agriculture and commerce, particularly by giving families an animal that can provide both food and reliable income. You can help donate one of these valuable animals to a community in need, giving a heifer, sheep, water buffalo, or other livestock in the name of a loved one. Why not shake things up and give a llama this Christmas?

9. Robin Hood Foundation

HOLIDAY & NEW YEAR CARDS

The Robin Hood Foundation is dedicated to funding and creating programs for New York’s neediest citizens. This holiday, you can help the 1.8 million New Yorkers living in poverty by simply sending a loved one a special holiday card. Choose from a variety of designs to wish someone Happy Holidays or Happy New Year, or you can send a personalized photo card and customize the typography.

10. World Vision

THE AMAZON OF CHARITABLE GIFTS

World Vision has a selection of gifts too large to list in full. They support a wide variety of causes with the ultimate goal of lifting children out of poverty, so no matter what gift you choose, you can be proud that you are benefiting a child in need.

Look What Toms has done....brilliant!

November 5, 2013 – Los Angeles, CA – In a bold and unexpected move that underscores its role as a leader in social innovation, TOMS today launched the TOMS Marketplace, a new online retail destination hosted on TOMS.com that features a curated collection of 200 socially conscious products from 30 different companies.  Featured at http://www.TOMS.com/marketplace for customers in the U.S., each of the TOMS Marketplace partner brands has a meaningful story and shares TOMS’ deep commitment to giving to those in need, spanning a wide range of causes and geographic areas of impact. 

“The TOMS Marketplace represents something that is bigger than us,” said Blake Mycoskie, Founder and Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS.  “We believe social entrepreneurship is a movement that is here to stay, and the TOMS Marketplace is our way of bringing awareness to so many amazing companies, causes and products.  For the past few years, I have been humbled by the number of social entrepreneurs who have been inspired by the TOMS business model. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I found myself in a similar position.  So I thought, ‘What can we do to help support these companies?’ The TOMS Marketplace is the result.”

By bringing together such a diverse collection of social entrepreneurs at various stages of their business, the TOMS Marketplace presents a wide assortment of products across an array of lifestyle categories, from accessories, apparel and bags to home goods, jewelry, sports equipment, tech and more.  Prices range from $5 to $500 for products that have never been available at TOMS.com until today. 

For the most part, the TOMS Marketplace highlights early-stage companies and their causes, each of whom were thoroughly vetted by TOMS’ Giving department to make sure their ability to deliver on their mission statements is of the highest standard.  Some more recognizable than others – yet all respected for their work – the companies and causes that make up the debut TOMS Marketplace collection include:

•    31 Bits
•    Apolis
•    Badala
•    Charity Water
•    Cleobella
•    Della
•    Denik
•    Falling Whistles
•    Fortuned Culture
•    From You With Love
•    Half United
•    Harper Belle Jewelry
•    JADETribe
•    JOYN
•    Krochet Kids International
•    Lemlem
•    LSTN
•    Movember
•    One World Futbol Project
•    Out of Print
•    Rose + Fitzgerald
•    Same Sky
•    Stone + Cloth
•    Sword & Plough
•    Tegu
•    The Base Project
•    The Giving Keys
•    The Honest Company
•    Yellow Leaf Hammocks

“The social entrepreneurship movement is made up of a lot of like-minded individuals, and in many ways it’s a fraternity of people who want to do business differently,” added Mycoskie. “I’ve been a part of this network for years and have recognized many organizations that have very interesting ideas and businesses that can scale.  Many of these have found a place in the TOMS Marketplace.”

TOMS’ innovation does not stop at the TOMS Marketplace.  The company recently announced that through its Giving Partners it has hand-placed over 10 million pairs of new shoes on children in need and has helped give sight to nearly 200,000 people around the world.  The success of TOMS’ One for One® business model has led to a continued evolution of its Giving efforts, with the company having made major investments in its shoe manufacturing, economic empowerment, commissioned field research, and product partnerships that have raised millions of dollars for non-profit organizations.  The TOMS Marketplace is the latest such investment from TOMS.

“We’re so excited to utilize, share and leverage TOMS’ platforms, our resources and our marketing to assist our TOMS Marketplace partners to help give to those in need,” added Mycoskie.  “We believe our customers – and even those who aren’t necessarily customers – trust the TOMS brand and what we stand for.  They are coming to our website because they want to buy or give a gift that gives back, and with the TOMS Marketplace, they will have a much greater selection of choices, all in one place.”

About TOMS: 

In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One.®  Since then, TOMS has given over 10 million pairs of new shoes to children in need.

Five years later, TOMS realized this movement could serve other basic needs and launched TOMS Eyewear. With every pair purchased, TOMS will help give sight to a person in need. One for One.®  Since launching, TOMS has helped save or restore the sight of nearly 200,00 people worldwide.

Charity Spotlight - Stop Diabetes

CHARITY SPOTLIGHT

A meaningful way show your support for the  cause is by wearing a GivingBand.  To order directly from the Stop Diabetes  website, click the button below: YOUR organization can create a custom charm program: