go small or go home

Did you hear? We’re in a recession! As we watch our mutual funds plummet, the one thing many of us don’t even think about is how charities and not-for-profits are going to survive this global economic mess. After all, these organizations depend on donations, which come from the disposable incomes of donors. And, as we all know, no one’s disposable income budget has been immune to the bitter winds of the financial meltdown.

So, we here at Go Small have been waiting to see if not-for-profits would rise to the challenge and find new ways to raise funds for their causes that are innovative, easy and inspire the public to find room in their ever-shrinking wallets. Oxfam Canada has done just that, creating the Oxfam Unwrapped Gift Card, a gift certificate that you can buy online and that the lucky recipient can redeem at the Oxfam Unwrapped e-store. Available for purchase? Goats, donkeys, seeds, tools–anything a family or individual in a developing country needs to build a sustainable future. Also available are donations to all of Oxfam Canada’s programs.

Oxfam Unwrapped Gift Card

What we love about this initiative is that it encourages people to buy donations as gifts. Instead of chipping away at dwindling charitable giving budgets, Oxfam Canada is making it easy for anyone to make good use of the money they’ve allotted for gifts instead. Just because the world’s economic systems have ground to a halt, that doesn’t give any of us free license to forget Mother’s Day!

Working with those at healthcare facilities such as hospitals and hospices to transform dreary corridors into canvases that are hopeful and inspired, founders Gary Blair and Earl Pinchuk focus on projects that improve the welfare of both healthcare workers and patients while giving voice to artists that might not otherwise have a venue for their artwork.