It’s fun to involve your kids in discussion about where to make charitable donations.  You know your kids will have opinions about what topic, place, or issue is meaningful to them.  But once you have honed in on the type or charity you want to support, how do you determine that your money will be used effectively?

It turns out that only 35 percent of donors do any research before making a contribution.  Fortunately with the internet, it has become a lot easier to investigate the legitimacy of organizations and how they use their donations.  Typically, you should look for charities where 65 to 75 percent of their budget supports the cause with 25 to 35 percent going toward administrative expenses. Below are several websites that can help you navigate the field.  If you know the name of the organization you are considering, type it into the database and review the information.  Many of these sites also have cause categories you can browse to help identify a group that meets your areas of interest and your standards.

• American Institute of Philanthropy
• Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance
• Center for High Impact Philanthropy
• Charity Navigator
• Give Well
• GreatNonprofits
• GuideStar

© YesKidzCan!, 2012

If you’re like us, the back-to-school time of year involves digging into closets, drawers, and sometimes frightening nooks and crannies to see what we don’t need anymore and what we need to replenish.

While you are de-cluttering your life, you can help out someone else’s through The Giving Effect — a free website which lets you browse among 1,300 charities, find out what items are on their wish lists, and complete a simple form to arrange for pick-up, drop-off, or shipment.  You can explore the site by your zip code, items you’re donating, and even special interests to find causes you’d like to support.  Each cause has a webpage that describes who they help and what they needs.  All donations are tax deductible (unless noted otherwise).

Items can include gently-used clothes, books, shoes, toys, nonperishable food, cleaning supplies, medical equipment, and even boats or cars!

So if you have bought too many 32-ounce cans of artichokes from the discount store or your youngest refuses to wear oldest’s hand-me-downs or your brilliant birthday gadget gift was a “miss” and non-returnable to boot, check out The Giving Effect as a great way to make good use of items you don’t need anymore, have outgrown, or have in excess.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Most kids understand that we recognize July 4th as a holiday to celebrate the United State’s independence from British rule in 1776.  The Declaration of Independence was drafted to spell out what was important to our leaders and citizens and our commitment.  Seems like a perfect holiday to add an easy service project to foster the leader in your kids.

We’re not talking about anything complicated.  The kids are looking for some entertainment while you’re heating up the grill.  So, set up a table with a few canvases and some paint and brushes and have the kids create inspirational paintings (perhaps with patriotic themes in honor of the 4th).  Many hospitals, senior centers, libraries, or schools would appreciate receiving the artwork to brighten up their hallways or waiting areas. For a complete how-to on this kind of project, purchase our Art that Heals Community Service Project Kit.  It includes a butterfly template as one artistic option.  It’s “almost free” at $8.  And, 100% goes to support children’s causes!  Our forefathers would be proud to see a project like this as part of a holiday that is all about leadership and banding together as a community.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Summer’s here!  That means a lot of outdoor activities, sporting events, and warm-weather fun.  Amidst the swim meets and ball games, you can help your kids practice a different kind of good sportsmanship by making a difference in someone’s life.  Here are two easy things to consider:

• Donate sports equipment. During any one of your kids’ sporting events, ask them to bring gently used athletic equipment that can be donated to other kids who can’t afford them.   You can tap into our Good Sportsmanship Community Service Project Kit to find all the information you need to organize this effort including groups that accept these donations.
• Donate sports tickets. Can’t make it to a ball game?  Donate the tickets to your local hospital for kids who would benefit from a distraction from their health concerns.  Simply call the volunteer coordinator at your area hospital to see if they accept tickets.

These are just a few simple ways to have good fun this summer!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

This Mother’s Day, you can honor your mom by supporting women in need.  About 30,000 women in the United States will spend Mother’s Day in a shelter for battered women.  To them, Mother’s Day is just another day to survive.  So, instead of giving mom a gift this year, you can donate $25 to a shelter in her name through Jewish Women International’s Mother’s Day Flower Project. Your donation will go towards flowers, beauty products, stationery, and more. The mom you honor will also receive a Mother’s Day Card to let her know a donation was made in her name. 

© YesKidzCan, 2011

When our kids do something great, we naturally tell them or show them how proud we are.  Recognition is an important part of teaching our kids about community service.  Of course, we hope that when our kids give back, they feel good about their actions on their own.  But have you noticed when we say ”atta boy” or “atta girl” to provide that extra pat on the back, our kid’s response is something like, “You are just saying that because you are my mom or dad!’

One way to try to get around this never-ending back and forth of words is to provide a more objective recognition.  Surprise your kid with a “You Did Good” Certificate of Achievement. You can download and print it out for free.  There is room on the certificate for you to sign it, and if it helps in any way, the certificate also has our signatures  — the co-founders of YesKidzCan!  We may not be rock stars, but we do know kids and philanthropy!  You could also consider giving them a cool t-shirt, binder, or mousepad with fun messages about giving back. (100% of the profits go to support children’s causes, by the way. You can tell your kids that, too!)

Check out more ideas for recognizing the good in your kids, and let us know other ways you’ve gotten responses beyond the eyeroll and heavy sigh!  We would love to know about them professionally . . . and as parents, too!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Every night, I would love to create a home-made meal for my daughter.  Hard as I try, it just can’t happen.  Some evenings, I just pop a box in the microwave and tear open the pouch.  Just as much as we want to nourish our kids’ bodies, we also want to nourish who they are as members of the human race.  One way to do this is teaching them how to give back.  Sometimes, it feels like there is not a lot of time to do this either.

That’s why YesKidzCan! has created a variety of quick and easy charitable giving projects for your kids.  They include crafts ideas, games, recipies, and other activities that are simple to set up, fun to do, and reinforce the importance of kind acts.  All the materials are free and downloadable with a click of the mouse.  Print out our “You’re Awesome” Card, and have your kids color it in and give to someone as a day brightener.  Next time you ask your kids to clean out their closets, download our Surprise Messages for them to fill out an tuck inside the outgrown shoes for the donation bag.

Check out some of our other simple projects.  You may just end up having extra time to cook that home-made meal after all!

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

One in four kids in America doesn’t know where their next meal is coming from. You and your kids can help change this the next time you go to the grocery store.

In stores now, ConAgra brands of peanut butter, canned pasta, TV dinners, and other items have a special promotion code on them.  You can find the designated products as well as enter the promotional code from the packaging on the Child Hunger Ends Here website.  For every promotional code you enter, one meal is donated to local Feeding America food banks. 

No child should start or end the day hungry. Go grocery shopping with your kids and have them help you select food items that nourish their bodies, open their hearts, and feed other children.

 ©YesKidzCan!, 2011

It is no surprise that moms and kids see the world from different vantage points.  Why should the topic of giving back be any different?  As revealed by a recent survey conducted by Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks®, The Parenting Group’s MomConnection® Research Network , there is a balance to be reached between kids who expressed their eagerness to give back and moms who feel understandably challenged when it comes to figuring out how and when to support their kids’ interests.  The research shows that parents struggle with:

• deciding what is the appropriate age kids should start giving back,
• determining the right activities,
• believing that kids can make more of a difference locally rather than globally,
• making time, and
• lacking funds to support charitable efforts.

 On the other hand kids are ready, willing, and able to give back according to this research.  Kids feel they:

• can give back in meaningful ways at any age,
•  would enjoy any number of volunteer activities – ranging from sending care packages to soldiers to participating in fundraisers,
• can help anyone anywhere in the world, and
• would rather be giving adults when they grow up than wealthy adults.

As with most parent-child relations, perhaps the answer is somewhere in the middle.  Your family has to do what works best for all members of your family.  Here’s one easy option to consider. Now through May, you can look for specially marked “Win & Give” Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks packages in stores.  For every child that wins in the United States, Betty Crocker Fruit Flavored Snacks will donate a laptop to a child in Africa.  It’s a pretty easy way for parents and kids to help change the lives of other kids.  And if you don’t win from your purchase, you and your kids can visit WinOneGiveOne online,  and play “Be a Hero” to help donate additional computers to kids in need.  Whether making a purchase or going online, it takes limited time.  It costs little to nothing. And, you can do it together and make a difference for a kid living on another continent. 

© YesKidzCan!, 2011

Early this week, we shared ways you and your kids can turn $5.00 or less into a charitable giving effort that carries a lot of value.  Here are several more ideas to consider!

• Send a free e-card:   Your kids can inspire or motivate someone to do something good or act kindly by sending a free e-card for different occasions.  Your choice helps support various causes! Visit Care2 with your kids to select and email your card.
• Don’t let shipping costs get in your way:  For no money at all, your kids can send much-needed items to children in war-torn areas through Operation Give, a nonprofit that helps collect and distribute toys and necessities to kids in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Have your kids go through their toy boxes to find gently used items including stuffed animals, puzzles, or picture books.  Or, they can donate school or art supplies.  (See their website for more needed items.)  Here’s the best part:  Thanks to FedEx, shipping is free!! Go to Operation Give’s donation page  to contact them about shipping instructions. 
• Show your kids how far a small contribution goes.  There are many organizations that have programs that encourage small donations or micro-contributions.  Here’s a sampling.  For just two dollars, you and your kids can save two children from Malaria by donating this small amount to MassiveGood, a world-wide effort dedicated to stopping the spread of deadly diseases in developing countries.  It is part of the United Nations Millennium Foundation.  For just one dollar, you and your kids can help stop deforestation. Through Avon’s initiative, Hello Green Tomorrow , you can help plant one million trees in South America’s Atlantic Rainforest.  One dollar equals one tree!

Whether it is one click of your mouse, one dollar, or one hour of time, encouraging your kids to participate in small acts of giving can have big results for your family, for your community, and for people around the world.

© YesKidzCan!, 2011