New survey results from the October Pew Research Center state the 57% of Americans seem to feel an income shortfall against the ever-increasing cost of living. This of course calls for a fair amount of trimming on expenses that could be considered unnecessary, but does charity come into play here? Charity credit cards are great this way, they enable you to give, even if it is a little donation without having too much of an impact on your tight budget.
Also referred to as cause credit cards, these cards donate a fraction of the transaction to whatever charity is connected to the card. Most cards are branded with the name of the charity, like for instance the American Heart Association cards from the Bank of America – while other cards let you choose your charity for donation. This way, you can even divide your donation among say, five different charities.
The contributions made through each transaction are minute and amount to as little as 0.3% to 1% per transaction. However, when each transaction donation adds up, taking into account the number of cardholders, the donation does add up to a sizable sum. If you feel this donation is not enough, then there are some cards where you can offer an initial donation ranging from $10 – $50 at activation – these are available at CardPartner, OneCause and Chase.
A good example of a charity which benefits from charity credit cards is a tiny, private school which manages to raise approximately $6,000 every quarter by the OneCause credit card, a shopping site and a toolbar feature. The money raised goes to finance the school’s scholarship program.