Making a difference is a mantra that gets used a lot at Ideas Shop – and we do try to walk the talk with pro bono and voluntary work.  But we’re on a real mission now, thanks to this blog.  Here’s my "five ways to give without spending money":

One: Think about how you give.  Is it random depending on which collector is standing on a street corner on a Friday morning, or do you take a more considered approach? There’s lots of great information on the Philanthropy New Zealand website about how to make your giving even more effective.  

Two: Check out the VolunteerNow site for some inspirational volunteering ideas.  Throughout New Zealand there are thousands of voluntary agencies - both large and small, in little towns and big cities that would benefit from your skills and life experience. As I write, there are opportunities on the site for sports coaches, horse riders, accountants and mentors, to name just a few.

Three: Talk to your friends or colleagues about a cause or nonprofit organisation that you are passionate about. Sometimes raising awareness about an issue is as important as the doing. 

Four: Encourage the children in your life to give. We learn our giving behavior from those around us. My kids have a giving box into which they are encouraged to put a proportion of any money they are given or earn for doing chores.  Each Christmas they decide which nonprofit organisation they want to give the proceeds to.  Last year it was the SPCA and the kids got enormous pleasure actually going to the Wellington SPCA to deliver their offering.  They even got a tour around the facilities and got to see how their money was going to be help the animals.

Five: Say hello, kia ora, talofa, mālō ē lelei, ni hao (or whatever works for you) to five people in your street this week. A BBC survey last year found that 22 percent of English people feel their neighbourhood has become less friendly in the past five years and other surveys suggest that between 4 percent and 8 percent didn’t know their neighbours at all. But these trends can be reversed, just by taking a few simple actions…like saying hello, and/ or exchanging telephone numbers in case of emergencies.