Charity evaluators, donation seals, volunteering platforms and local associations.
Seals such as the DZI in Germany or Don en Confiance in France check how a charity spends donations and how it is run. To give time, volunteering platforms list local associations looking for help.
OxfamUnverpackt is the online gift shop of Oxfam Deutschland where each “gift” is a donation: a goat for €28, school books for €12 or clean water for 50 people for €44. The person receiving it gets a…
Alternative to last-minute gifts that end up in a drawer
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Oxfam Shops are second-hand shops in Germany, run by Oxfam with about 4,000 volunteers, that sell donated clothes, books, music, films and household goods. Their surplus funds Oxfam Deutschland’s…
Alternative to fast fashion and new books, and online second-hand platforms that earn on every sale
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Crédit Coopératif is a French cooperative bank, owned by its client-members, that has banked associations and social-economy businesses since 1893 and also offers current accounts, cards and savings…
Alternative to commercial high-street banks that finance fossil fuels
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Solidarités International is a French humanitarian NGO, founded in 1980, that brings drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to people hit by wars and disasters, along with food aid and shelter. Water…
Alternative to donating without knowing where the money goes, for clean water in crisis zones
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Les Petits Frères des Pauvres is a French association, founded in 1946, whose volunteers visit isolated older people at home, organise group activities and holidays, and answer a free, anonymous…
Alternative to leaving older people alone, or paying a private company for company
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Quartiermeister is a Berlin beer brand owned by a non-profit foundation: its profits go to neighbourhood projects, chosen by public vote in the cities where the beer is drunk.
Alternative to beer from big brewing groups such as AB InBev, Heineken or Radeberger
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Don en Confiance is a French association that awards a label to charities and foundations that sign its ethical code and accept continuous checks. Donors use it to see which organisations appealing…
Alternative to giving to street or phone fundraisers without checking the organisation
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The DZI Spendensiegel is a German seal for charities that collect donations. The DZI (Deutsches Zentralinstitut für soziale Fragen), a foundation in Berlin, awards it each year after checking the…
Alternative to giving to the organisation with the most emotional advertising, without knowing how the money is used
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Social grocery shops (épiceries solidaires) sell food, fresh produce and hygiene products to households on low incomes at 10 to 30 % of the usual price. Customers choose on the shelves and pay at the…
Alternative to food parcels, for households on a small income who want to choose their own shopping
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The calendrier de l’Avent inversé, or reverse Advent calendar, turns the December countdown around: instead of opening a window each day, the family puts one useful item a day into a box, then gives…
Alternative to bought Advent calendars filled with chocolate, cosmetics or toys
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The Good Gifts Catalogue is a British charity gift catalogue: instead of an object, the buyer pays for a specific item or service for a charity project, such as a goat or seeds and tools, and…
Alternative to gadgets and presents nobody needs, and to charity gifts that go into a general fund
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Lemonaid is a Hamburg brand of organic, Fairtrade-certified lemonades that gives 5 cents from every bottle sold to its own charity, Lemonaid & ChariTea e.V., which funds projects in the countries…
Alternative to Coca-Cola, Fanta and other soft drinks from global beverage groups
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Viva con Agua is a Hamburg charity for drinking water and sanitation that also has its own mineral water brand, sold in German supermarkets, whose licence fees and profits fund its projects.
Alternative to mineral water brands owned by food multinationals
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Giving time and money where it helps
Celebrations, gifts and holidays
Second-hand, swapping, lending and sharing
Clothing and mending
Banking, insurance and pensions
Water and sanitation
Ageing, end of life and funerals
Neighbourhood, community spaces and local networks
Drinks: coffee, tea, wine and beer
Food and community farming
Shopping: online, marketplaces and local shops
