How to Donate Gift Cards to Charity

Your old gift cards could help a child in need.

If you've noticed that your wallet or billfold has become unusually heavy over time it could be because you've slowly filled it with gift cards for various restaurants or stores and forgotten the cards are there. You have no idea whether or not there is any money left on the cards, or maybe you think there may be, oh, fifty cents on there -- or perhaps you've gotten bad service at that particular store and vowed never to go there again. Consider donating the cards to charity -- they will be able to use them to help others.

Instructions

1. Collect the cards. Look through desk drawers, your wallet, your purse, dresser drawers and your coupon file to find all the gift cards in the house. Decide which ones you are not likely to finish using.

2. Contact the charity. Call the charity you wish to donate to and see if they will accept the cards. Chances are they will -- even fifty cents on a store's gift card is fifty cents the charity doesn't have to spend to help someone in need -- but make sure.

3. Deliver the cards. If the charity is local or has a local office like Habitat for Humanity or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, arrange to deliver the cards in person. If the charity you've chosen has no local representative, mail the gift cards to the charity.

Tips & Warnings

• Even gift cards with no money left on them could help a charity -- some cards are collector's items.

References

• Donate Cards