8 Low or No Cost Ways to Give Back in Central Texas (or Anywhere!)
As the Executive Director of I Live Here I Give Here, I get to do so many fun things! I meet with generous donors and creative partners across Central Texas, learn about amazing local nonprofits, and work with an expert (and delightfully wacky) team.
But one of my favorite things I get to do is talk with people about how to give back to our community. I know it can feel very daunting — how do you pick a cause, find the time in your busy schedule, or know if your effort really makes a difference?
The good news? I believe supporting your community can be simple, meaningful, and even fun. Here are some of the easiest low/no-cost ways to get started TODAY:
Keep some $1 bills and/or tunafish packets like THESE in your car to give to people asking for help on street corners.
Write kind notes to take to senior living or assisted living centers; if you have little kids, have them decorate the notes with drawings.
Follow a few of your favorite nonprofits on social media and like or comment on their posts.
Find your favorite nonprofit and send them cookies or a nice note, thanking the employees for all their work.
Volunteer! Contact 2-3 nonprofits that do what you care about and see how you might give some of your time.
If you do not know which nonprofit to support, amplifyatx.org is a great place to start exploring hundreds of the amazing nonprofits in our community; you can search by topic, location, and more.
Once you find a nonprofit that means a lot to you, send your friends an email or talk to them in person about why this org means a lot to you and how they can support the cause.
Explore the idea of joining a nonprofit board. Nonprofits needs a wide array of perspectives and life experience to make the best decisions – never doubt your value. You can take a look at board openings that we gathered HERE.
If you want to do even more, we would love for you to join us at See Us Give, a dinner program where we help people figure out how to give back to the community issues they care most about. Held next week on the evening of September 25, See Us Give is our way of having this conversation with nearly 200 people in one night. You can learn more HERE.
No matter what, just doing something, anything, can make a difference, both for you and for our community.