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Kind things to do for a local organization

For a group rather than a person — a food bank, a rescue, the club that runs because four people will not let it stop. What they are short of is almost never enthusiasm on the day, which is why most of these are about the unglamorous part, or the second time.

7 ideas

• Buy from the list rather than guessing

  Food banks and shelters publish exactly what they are short of. Donations that ignore it create sorting work.

  Half an hourUnder $10An organization

• Give the good version away, not the worn-out one

  Charity shops and refuges throw away an enormous amount of what is donated because it was not really a gift.

  Half an hourFreeAn organization

• Turn the one-off donation into a standing order

  Charities can plan against regular income and cannot plan against appeals. Five pounds monthly beats sixty at Christmas.

  5 minutesMore than $10An organization

• Be the second person to volunteer

  The first person to speak up takes all the risk. The second one makes it safe for everyone after.

  5 minutesFreeAn organization

• Give a local group one evening

  Small charities and clubs cannot afford the professional help they need, and the gap is usually one evening wide.

  An afternoonFreeAn organization

• Volunteer for the boring part

  Every group has people who want to plan and nobody who wants to do the accounts or stack the chairs.

  OngoingFreeAn organization

• Give to the unfashionable thing

  Money follows stories. Drainage, insurance and boiler repairs raise nothing and close more organizations than anything else.

  5 minutesMore than $10An organization