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Donate Your Birthday to Charity

Giving is a wonderful thing–and when you’re really committed to a cause or idea, you usually want to spread your passion to those around you.

But it’s not always easy to communicate why the philanthropies you love are worth supporting. Understandably, it’s even more difficult to persuade a friend or family member to commit to something like making a donation, even if they are interested in your favorite organization.

Charity is such an intensely personal thing–and while you care about your charity, you probably don’t want to be that pushy friend who won’t stop talking about their token cause, or come off as a zealot. So instead, why not consider donating your birthday to charity?

Support Your Charity–Without Being Pushy
Donating your birthday or another special day can be such a powerful way to rally your network around a cause. Donating your birthday means that instead of asking your friends for gifts for yourself, you ask them if they’d be interested in donating whatever amount your gift would have cost to a charity of your choice.

At the very least, donating your birthday means you’ve spread the word for an idea or cause you believe in without pushing your beliefs onto your friends and family. In the best-case scenario, you will have raised hundreds of dollars for your charity that they would never have seen otherwise, and created the potential for new, long-term supporters.

Start a Conversation & Strengthen Relationships
Donate your birthday to a charity and you’ll probably get donation gifts from relatives and friends whom you’d never normally get a gift from. Philanthropy inspires those around you to do things you wouldn’t expect–and can draw you closer to them, too. Embrace the opportunity to spark conversations about the cause you’re passionate about, and get to know what inspires those around you to altruism, even if their cause doesn’t happen to be your favorite.

Share Your Blessings With Others
While it’s not a terrible thing, let’s face it: birthdays are basically self-focused. Your birthday can be a great excuse to gather with the people you love and have a wonderful time, but it can be much more than that. Share the great material blessings you have with those who lack some of the basic needs of life–like clean drinking water or having a safe place to live. The small amount of money you could spend on yourself might make a huge difference in another person’s life.

This year, consider donating your birthday. It might mean giving up your gifts, but you’ll be giving a profound gift to someone less fortunate.

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