Usually people start thinking about charitable donations at the end of the year, but there’s no reason why you can’t give back during the summer months too. Even better, we’ve got some recommendations for apps for charity that help you perform a social good that can be adopted into your daily routine. All three are free and all rely on sponsorships for the donations, meaning that you don’t have to spend any of your own cash. Best of all, they require only a little more effort than you expend in your daily activities.
Charity Miles
(Free for Android and iOS)
You probably already have a fitness tracker on your phone anyway, so why not download Charity Miles? Simply choose a charity, and press start. You’ll earn 10 cents per mile biking or 25 cents per mile while walking or jogging—which will then be donated to the charity you’ve chosen. Corporate sponsors who’ve pledged $1 million make it possible, all at no cost to you.
Donate a Photo
(Free for Android and iOS)
Donate a Photo was produced by Johnson & Johnson and is probably our favorite of all apps for charity. Once you download the app and set up an account, you can pick your favorite charitable cause of the day and upload a photo. For each photo J&J donates $1 to the cause you’ve chosen. Today’s causes include “protect a child from malaria,” “lift a girl in India out of poverty,” “provide a crib to a family in need,” “protect a baby’s vision,” and more equally worthwhile endeavors. If you’re the type of person who takes lots of photos of your pet, random street scenes, or food, the app is perfect for you.
Feedie
(Free for Android and iOS)
Ever posted a photo of your food on Instagram and tagged it with the restaurant’s name. giving them free publicity? Feedie lets you do the same thing, but instead of empty-gesture likes, you trigger the restaurant to donate to The Lunchbox Fund, which provides meals for schoolchildren in South Africa. You must sign in with your Facebook or Twitter account, because you will be using one of those social media platforms to share your photo with your friends. (The Donate a Photo app does not require you to share your photos with friends.) Sadly, the nearest participating restaurant to us is Changos, a food truck in San Antonio, but you’ll find considerably more options if you’re in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or New York City. Note to Feedie: please find some partners in Dallas!
We did test a few other charity apps that didn’t make the list for one reason or another. Tinbox seems to have shut down, as has Check-in for Good. And while we like that the app “Give 2 Charity” lets you donate to charities like the Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, it also requires that you do surveys and tracks your location, and the donations seem to be really small. On Twitter, they say the community donated $409 in April. We think you’re better off making a different type of charitable gesture.
