Wendy Burt-Thomas
Posted: Thursday, December 11, 2008 10:53 pm

Photo by Tatiana Popova, istockphoto.com

 Let your dollars do good!

Gifts that give back

www.coloradolottery.com -- Why not give lottery tickets this year? In 2008, more than $122.3 million went back to Colorado, including the Conservation Trust Fund, Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Great Outdoors Colorado, and School Health and Safety.

www.iGive.com -- Shop online at over 700 brand name stores like Gap, Staples, Best Buy, Home Depot, and a portion of each purchase is donated to the cause of your choice! Over 24,000 nonprofits — big and small — are registered, including 981 in Colorado.

www.ddfl.org -- Love animals or know someone who does? Shop through the Dumb Friends League’s online gift shop for clothes (for humans and pets), mugs, tote bags, gift cards, mousepads and more and all proceeds benefit the animals at the local facilities.

www.buyforcharitymall.com -- Shop online and up to 35% of your purchase will go to the charity of your choice. Search for your cause by state, category and/or keyword. There are about 100 Colorado nonprofits already listed.

www.firedupforkids.org -- Not only can you buy the “hottest” gift in town (The Colorado Firefighter Calendar) but all proceeds go to The Children’s Hospital Burn Center in Aurora. In addition, Eako (www.eako.co.uk), a sustainable luxury company, is now donating 50% of its proceeds to the nonprofit when you use the code “FiredUpForKids” to buy from its line of handbags and accessories. Made from decommissioned London fire hoses, these stunning pieces will make you look good ... and feel great!

www.womensbeanproject.com -- Transform the lives of women just by buying delicious foods and gift items! The Denver-based nonprofit teaches job readiness and life skills for entry-level jobs through employment in its gourmet food production business. As the company explains, “(We) do not hire women to make and sell bean products. We make and sell bean products to hire women.”

www.foodbankrockies.org -- If you plan to give gift cards this year, buy them through a link on this site. Each time you purchase a gift card through the site, the Food Bank of the Rockies gets 2 to 8 percent of the card’s value. Every dollar received provides four meals for someone in need.

www.givingtreelife.com -- Help others enjoy philanthropy by giving them a pre-paid Mastercard or Visa from which the recipient donates 10 percent of the card’s value to a charity of their choice. The database contains more than 1.5 million nonprofits.

www.johnnyjet.com -- If you rack up frequent flyer miles traveling this holiday season, consider donating them to a charitable cause. Use this Web site to check each airline’s procedure for donating your miles.

www.creditcards.com -- If you’re planning to buy gifts on your credit card this season, you’ll probably rack up some form of reward points. Most card companies allow you to donate these points back to the charity of your choice in the form of a cash donation. Do a quick search for your card on this site or go to your credit card’s Web site to learn more.

LINKS TO BUY LOCAL

Keep your dollars local and support local artisans, businesses and farmers by buying gifts through any of these group Web sites:

www.commonwheel.com/store – The online store for the Commonwheel Artists Co-op in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Glass art, greeting cards, home accessories, jewelry, paintings, photography, pottery, quilts, sculpture and wearables.

www.boulderartsandcrafts.com – Here you will find local, affordable handmade gifts for all price ranges.

www.coloradofarmers.org – A great site for finding year-round farmer’s markets in your area. There are also countless links to local companies that grow or make their own products and have online stores. From wine and honey to cheese and chocolate, you’ll never run out of local vendors this shopping season!

www.coloradostylepublishing.com/artists.html  – Features links to a number of individual artists’ sites. 

www.coloradoartistcoop.com – This Web site features links to co-op members’ sites that sell art, jewelry, baskets and other gift items.