Alternative giving
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Alternative giving is a form of gift giving in which the giver makes a donation to a charitable organization on the gift recipient's behalf, rather than giving them an item. The idea of giving something to one person by paying another was applied by Benjamin Franklin as a "trick ... for doing a deal of good with a little money", which came to be known as "pay it forward".[1] This form of giving is often used as an alternative to consumerism and to mitigate the impact of gift-giving on the environment.[2]
Charities that promote this type of donating will normally provide a card or certificate describing the donation, often with an example of how the donation will be used (such as one day's worth of food for a hungry person) or a symbolic denomination, called "ownership" or "adoption" (of an animal or a tree for example). Some charities promote alternative giving at weddings in place of
The concept was
References
- ^ Benjamin Franklin to Benjamin Webb, April 22d, 1784
- Center for a New American Dream. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ^ "Prince William & Kate Middleton Ask For Charitable Royal Wedding Gifts, Not Presents". The Huffington Post. 16 March 2011.