Whether we like to admit or not, these are lean times. Now more than ever, we are trying to make our money go further. For some, recent times have led to job losses, house repossessions and some real financial headaches. If you have been someone who has always been one to give to others, there are many sites available today that allow people to donate money, give up their time or generally assist those lose fortunate for themselves.

Today I aim to list eight sites that will assist you should you wish to help someone (virtually) at some point in your life.

1. Everywun

Everywun is a website that tries to help others without asking the visitor for donations. They are set up to enable every visitor to support great causes by allowing people to take part in easy and fun actions, encouraging businesses to sponsor those actions, passing the money pledged onto people or organisations in need.

Everywun supports many different charities and organisations, including animal shelters, environmental trusts, investing in education, health and trying to eliminate poverty. The user can get involved simply by doing small things such as embedding an Everywun badge on their website or Facebook, answering questions and surveys and volunteering at workshops and events.

2. Akvo

Akvo is a website that helps communities climb out of poverty. They partner with selected companies and trusts that share their updates using Akvo tools. Users are asked to contribute to projects they want to watch progress unfold, as the teams making the difference share updates via SMS, photos and movie clips.

Avko takes the paperwork and red tape out of setting up projects, with all partners being from trusted networks. Widgets are available to showcase progress and storylines automatically for donors and fundraisers.

3. Green Any Site (GAS)

Green Any Site is an initiative that tries to offset money spent on online purchases to green companies. Users don’t have to visit any specific site to contribute to these companies, they are simply asked to track their purchases via the GAS site, which takes the user to sites like Amazon or Buy.com via a specific affiliate link. The money paid to GAS is then forwarded to a green company aiming to help change the world.

4. Razoo

Razoo has a simple mission, to promote social good and inspire others to get involved by making giving and serving fun, easy and meaningful. Razoo’s platform helps users learn about various causes and connect with other people who care deeply about similar issues.

Donations are accepted but Razoo aims to build a community that shares stories and helps other people get involved, inspiring hearts, minds and culture.

5. Bring Light

Bring Light was formed to try and remove the challenges faced by both donors and non-profit organisations when it comes to charitable giving. With many people wanting to give to worthy charitable projects that need funding, Bright Light bring them together in a way that is rewarding for donors and efficient for non-profits.

One of the best things about Bring Light is that they ensure 100% of donations go to the selected cause and those who donate receive the maximum possible tax benefit.

6. Goodsearch

Last year search engines generated upwards of £8 Billion in revenue from advertisers. Goodsearch developed a way to direct some of that money to causes that people genuinely care about. By using their search when you search for something on the internet, a charity or a school earns money from it. The more people search, the more money is donated.

You don’t have to worry about the search results being poor, the search is powered by Yahoo.

7. Gigoit

Gigoit’s goal is to provide communities with a free venue were website visitors may donate and receive unwanted items within their neighborhoods, keeping them from being thrown away and ending up in landfills.

The service is similar to that of Freecycle and Craigslist, people have things they don’t want or need anymore and there are people who in turn, need these items. Gigoit exists to connect these people and create powerful communities who want to help other people without any monetary gain.

8. Dooniz

Dooniz is another search engine that diverts part of search engine revenue to those more needy. When Dooniz refers somebody to one of it’s affiliated sites, a sum of the money is redistributed to a list of major organisations around the planet. By grouping with a variety of different websites and incorporating them into their site, Dooniz offers goods, travel, online music, even new credit cards and mobile phones.

It keeps the search process familiar so the user isn’t too confused when trying to search the internet.

Conclusion

The websites listed here are just a few initiatives that try to help out those in need. There are many charities that accept online donations as well as charity shops in your local high street. If you can give just a small amount of time or money to these organisations, you are helping out someone less fortunate than yourself, bringing us one step closer to a more equal global economy.