How To Find The Right Charity For You

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It’s the International Day of Charity! If you want to do some good but aren't really sure where to start, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how you can find the right charity for you…

Supporting a charity not only helps out communities and causes, it connects you to doing good and making positive impacts. Whether it’s your local charity shop, a grassroots organisation, or a global charity reaching all corners of the world, every little bit helps. But how do you work out who to support? 

What do you care about?

It might seem like an obvious place to start, but it’s good to just take a moment and think about what’s important to you. What issues do you care about? Is there anything you want to raise awareness about? Campaign for? Raise money for? Get your voice heard about? Is your issue local or global? Do you want to combat hunger? Fight for equality? Support the arts? Help refugees? End homelessness? Stop animals from going extinct? The options really are endless, so have a good think about what it is you’re passionate about. 

How is your cause supported?

So, you know what you care about, but are there any charities that support it? Mostly likely, yes, there are...so it’s time to do some research! Go online, start searching and make a list of all the different organisations that are relevant to what you want to support (sites like Charity Choice make it super easy to find charities, as you can search by sector!) You can even ask your friends and family if they support any charities and why, or if they have any ideas of charities that might be right for you. Next, have a think about what important qualities you think a charity should have - What is their mission? How do they ensure this happens? Where do their funds go? Are they transparent about everything they do? What is their code of ethics? Can you see the impact of their work? Do they have any ambassadors or endorsers that you recognise and feel are trustworthy?  Of course you don’t have to ask yourself these exact questions, but they’re a good starting point to think about what kind of things are important to you when it comes to supporting a charity, so take some time to write down your own, and do your research. You can also look at their FAQ pages or use their contact pages to get in touch if you have any questions.  

What do you actually want to do?

Once you’ve thought about what it is you care about and who you want to support, the next thing to think about is how you actually want to help your cause. What kind of impact do you want to have? Do you want to start your own campaign, or take part in something they’ve already established? Do you want to raise awareness or funds? Do you want to help anonymously or do you want people to know about it? Will you be helping alone or organising a team? Will you be giving donations? Your time? Your voice? Take some time to think about how you want to be associated with your charity and what you can do for them.

Then, it’s time to get going! However you choose to support your charity, and whichever one it is, you can be certain that you’ll be making well researched, educated choices, for a cause that is important to you...and that’s something worth celebrating! 

Let us know who you support and why over on our socials at @NCS!