CHARITY CARD SECRETS
CHRISTMAS is a time for giving – and you can start by donating money to charity when sending your greetings cards. Here, The Mail on Sunday shows how to help a charitable cause with a Christmas card.
BUY A CHARITY CARD
A BILLION Christmas cards will be posted between now and Christmas Day, with a third triggering a donation to a good cause.
But the amount given and the cause that is helped varies depending on where you buy the card.
Dame Hilary Blume, director of The Charities Advisory Trust, which helps charities raise money, says: ‘High street shops and card companies boast about how wonderful they are at giving but are often just cynically linking their name to a charity as a marketing ploy.
‘If you really want to help a good cause, you are usually better off buying cards directly from the charity because any money after production costs goes straight to them – usually more than half the price you have paid.
‘This compares favourably with the scrooge-like behaviour of shops that cream off much of the money and hand as little as 10 per cent of the card’s price to charity.
‘Other types of card can be even more miserly, giving as little as 3 per cent of the sale price.’
The Charities Advisory Trust says card sellers must print the donation amount on the back of each packet of cards, so it is easy to find out how generous they are being with your money. But company-branded cards are able to hide their lack of generosity.
Among the worst offenders of design-your-own card providers this year is Festive Collection, which will hand over a miserly 5p of every card to charity – 2.7 per cent of the card price. CCA Occasions, Caring Greetings and Astra Imprint, are among others giving less than 3 per cent to charity.
Others, such as Moonpig, appear generous by giving 25 per cent of card sales proceeds to charity, but only donate to a charity of their choice. On Friday, Tilly Clark, busi- ness manager at Festive Collection, said: ‘Our company was taken over by Admiral Charity Cards in August this year. Our parent company gives 12 per cent of a card’s price to charity. So our rate of 5p a card will be reviewed in the New Year.’
CONSIDER SENDING AN E-CARD
THE rising price of postage stamps means that e-cards are becoming a popular option for those that wish to save money.
By sending a card electronically as an email attachment rather than an envelope through the post you can save up to 64p – the price of a first-class stamp – or 55p if sending mail secondclass. An e-card does not offer the same personal touch as a traditional message sent through the post but it does mean all your money goes to the charity of your choice – and not a high street shop. A number of charities, including Marie Curie, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Friends of the Earth and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, now sell e-cards. These charities ask for a minimum donation of between £1 and £5 to give you access to software that allows you to send their designs via email. Another is Card Aid, which helps charities sell greetings cards online. It allows you to choose from a wide range of illustrations and charities to send 50 personalised e-cards for £22.50.
MAKE YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS GREETING
MAKING your own Christmas cards will not result in any donation to a charity. But it provides a personal touch that is often more appreciated than a purchased greeting. It can also save you money – which you can then donate if you wish.
You can start with blank cards purchased from high street stationery shops or specialists, such as Hobbycraft, from as little as £5 for a packet of 50.
For families with young children, cards illustrated by children are always appreciated. But be wary of turning a fun activity into a chore.
If you have access to a colour photocopier it may be wise to focus on creating one picture to be copied and then stuck on all cards – but with personal handwritten messages.
If you are looking for ideas, a wealth of suggestions and practical advice can be found on websites such as Activity Village, Housetohome and Mum In The Madhouse.
Alternatively you might go for a personal photograph that is put on to a card. Websites such as Touchnote allow you to download a picture and post a greetings card from £3.98. Competitor Lalalab charges £1.99 to make a personalised Christmas card plus 99p for postage.