Donating money is a good way to contribute to a Port Phillip community group, but it's by no means the only option for helping.
There are so many ways to give and to help out local community groups and there are few groups that can afford to turn away useful offers of help. It pays to think broadly about your resources - don't restrict yourself to writing a cheque or to donating online. The options are endless, but here are just a few to get you started.
Give a donation as a gift - Instead of giving a birthday or Christmas present to a friend, consider making a donation on their behalf to an appropriate Port Phillip community group or charity. Give them a card telling them that you have made a donation and provide the receipt. The benefit will last longer than a box of chocolates or a pair of socks!
Ask your friends to give money, not presents - Ask your friends not to give you Christmas or birthday presents this year but to instead donate the money they would have spent to a nominated community group.
Donate a gold coin - Next time you host a party ask everyone to throw in a gold coin for a nominated Port Phillip community group. If you can't all agree on the group to help, put the names of the groups in a hat and draw one (or two) out.
Sponsor a child - Consider sponsoring a child through an overseas aid agency or help to sponsor the education of an Australian child. Donate to a community group online - There are dozens of appeals you can donate to online at our Port Phillip Gives Donations Centre. Make a quick, safe and secure donation without leaving your chair! If you don't have a credit card or feel more comfortable signing your name on your donations, you can also donate to your favourite community group by phone, fax or mail.
Give as you earn - Set up a payroll deduction to make a regular donation to a community group. Call the Give As You Earn Helpline on 1300 653 567 or visit www.cafaustralia.org.
Pass it on - Does your business have excess office supplies, furniture, advertising space or transport that it could give to a community group? You might even have a spare desk and a telephone that a local organisation could put to use.
Provide some in-kind support - Donations don't have to be financial. You can give away goods and services instead. You could support a local sausage sizzle by donating the sausages or onions, help out at a school building project by putting up the tarps, etc.
Donate your expertise - Consider whether you or your business could provide pro bono assistance to a Port Phillip community group in the area of legal advice, accounting, auditing, marketing, public relations or IT knowledge. It is a way of providing significant expertise that the group would find costly to obtain otherwise.
Where there's a will, there's a way - Consider preparing a will that bequeaths all or part of your estate to your favourite community group or groups.
Think twice before you dispose of things that are still in good working order. Is there a community group that could benefit from using them or could they sell them at their next trash and treasure stall? Or for that matter could you sell it and donate the proceeds?
Drop your unwanted (but still okay) clothes in a donation bin - Donation bins can be found outside many churches, convenience stores and shopping centres. Better still, if you can sew, make an item of clothing to donate to a local group or homeless shelter.
Donate your old computers to a good cause - If you are upgrading your computer, there are organisations that will take your old PCs, refurbish them and distribute them to disadvantaged schools, families and community groups. Even if the computer has had it, many of the components can often still be recycled. Visit the Port Phillip Gives Centre for more information on computer recycling.
Find a good use for Aunty Fay's last birthday present - Everyone has unused or unopened presents that just sit in a cupboard. Instead of letting them gather dust, why not donate them to a community group to use as a prize in a raffle, auction or fundraiser?
Give a community group the gift of music - Go through your old record and CD collection and donate anything you don't listen to anymore to one of your local community groups or op-shop. Amazingly, there is always someone else out there who thought Bucks Fizz was great!
Donate your old printer cartridges to be recycled - You can actually get money for your old computer printer cartridges and ribbons and a number of schools and community groups are now collecting old cartridges to raise funds. Either donate the cartridges to the groups themselves or get the refund yourself and donate that.
Clean out your bookshelves - Book stalls are a staple of any Port Phillip community fete. Some groups collect books year-round to stockpile for a big annual sale.
Community groups almost always need people's time as much as their money. Port Phillip residents provide many hours of unpaid volunteer work - many groups could not survive without that support. If you don't feel confident enough to help a community group in public, see if they would like a hand behind the scenes. Every group needs people to help type letters, answer phones and do countless other jobs like filing and photocopying.
Support crisis and help lines - Crisis telephone lines need volunteer counsellors to answer phones. Find out about help lines in your area and offer to help or to undertake the training required to staff the lines.
Check to see if your elderly neighbours need some help - If you have elderly friends or neighbours who are house-bound or struggle to get out, offer to help them out with the shopping or other errands.
Provide a break for a carer - If you have a friend or neighbour who is a full-time carer, offer to step in and help for a couple of hours so they can get out and do a bit of shopping or just have a break for a couple of hours.
Raise a seeing eye dog - Puppies are placed in homes at eight weeks of age, where they are taught basic obedience. At 12 months they return to the kennels to begin their formal training. It can be very rewarding to see the joy and independence a seeing eye dog can give a blind person. Visit Seeing Eye Dogs Australia.
Become a tutor - Your knowledge and skills can teach others how to do any number of important jobs, from using computers to managing a budget or growing a successful vegetable garden. Volunteer home tutors help newly arrived migrants learn English and assist people who are hearing impaired.
Give your experience by joining a board or committee - Consider becoming a board member of a Port Phillip community group that you are involved in and have a say on how the group runs and what it does. You can make a lasting contribution and make a difference by becoming actively involved in something you are truly passionate about.
Be a mentor and pass your knowledge on - Pass on your expertise to a young community leader. It gives them the chance to bounce ideas off someone with experience.
Consider virtual volunteering - If you have computer access and the necessary skills, some organisations now offer the opportunity to do volunteer work online. This might take the form of giving free legal advice, typing an essay for a person with a disability, or simply keeping in contact with someone who needs a friend. Virtual volunteering can be a way for you to help if you have limited time or mobility or if you simply enjoy computers and want to employ your computer skills in your volunteer work.
Giving can be as easy as putting up your hand.
Join a Port Phillip community group - Don't just be a supporter, be a member of your local community groups. While community groups love donations, many survive on the annual subscriptions from dedicated members. Find a cause or a group dedicated to something you are interested in and sign up today.
Renew your memberships - If you are already a member of a local community group, renew your membership to ensure your group doesn't have to waste its resources chasing you up.
Donate blood - Short on cash? Your gift doesn't have to be financial. You can give an even more precious gift - your blood. Giving blood is safe and easy. See the Australian Red Cross Blood Service for details.
Sign up as an organ donor - There's no time like the present to sign up as an organ donor. Each year thousands of Australians wait for the gift of life. To join the Australian Organ Donor Registry phone 1800 777 203 or visit the Health Insurance Commission website.
Everybody knows that there is strength in numbers - why not expand your giving by getting others to join in?
Ask your workmates to give a hand - Spread the load and make community work a team effort by organising your workmates to volunteer as a group. Apart from the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile, making a valuable contribution to your community is a great exercise in boosting office morale and team spirit.
Donate your winnings - Organise a footy tipping competition and donate some of the prize money to a community group.
Give as you buy - Organise a pre-Christmas fundraising shopping tour to warehouses and factory outlets and donate a percentage of the sales to a local charity.
Give donations for Secret Santa - Rather than buying Secret Santa Christmas gifts for your work colleagues, donate the money to a community Christmas appeal and make your gifts instead.
Tempt your workmates - A chocolate drive is an easy way to raise money for your community group.
Get the family involved - Volunteering as a family is a great way to help out and bring your family together.
Approach your boss - Ask your employer if they will provide a matching gift for whatever your workplace can raise in a special fundraising effort for a Port Phillip community group.
Do you have a celebrity friend? - If you have access to celebrities or friends who are in the public eye, ask them to put their pen to work for you by signing some memorabilia that can be donated to a group to raise money.
As well as making direct donations, you can also help out Port Phillip community groups by thinking a little more strategically about how you spend your money.
Buy greeting cards from a community group stall, charity shop or online marketplace - Many charities and community groups raise funds by selling their own cards. This is an easy way of helping out a local group and giving something different to family and friends.
Buy your presents from a community group - Many local groups and schools hold fairs offering a wide range of goods. Larger groups sell online at sites such as the Oxfam Community Aid Abroad shop.
Attend a local community event - Lots of Port Phillip schools, kindergartens and local groups hold fetes, fairs and other fundraisers during the year. Offer your support by going along and buying fairy floss, raffle tickets, or a turn at the lucky dip.
Buy from businesses that support groups in your local community - Where possible, shop with retailers or companies that donate a percentage of their profit to charity.
Buy a pet from an animal shelter - If you're looking for a new pet, visit an animal shelter instead of a pet shop. Unfortunately, there are plenty of animals looking for homes. Try the RSPCA.
Buy a ribbon. Buy a Badge. Buy a pen - If you see an organisation selling ribbons, pens or badges for a fundraising appeal go out of your way to purchase one. And wear the ribbon or badge to show your support.
You can also support community groups by helping to support the people that support them!
Hold drinks for your hard-working community group volunteers - Offer to hold a dinner or drinks for your local community group to thank volunteers or staff or to provide a get-together for major supporters or donors.
Spread the word - If you have enjoyed the support, encouragement or assistance of a local community group - or just think they have done a super job - why not let others in the community know? Send a letter to the local politicians, councillors and media to let everyone know how important and valuable the community group is.
This help sheet has been prepared by ourcommunity.com.au, a national resource for Australia's 700,000 community and non-profit organisations.
