Five ways you can give to charity when money is tight

The rising cost of living is squeezing household budgets across Australia, and charities are feeling the strain. According to the 2025 McNair yellowSquares Survey, while average donations per adult rose slightly to $447, the number of active donors continues to shrink, and nearly two in five Australians say housing costs have affected their ability to give.

Meanwhile, demand for charitable services is surging. The Salvation Army reports that more than 3.3 million Australians are now living in poverty, with charities facing higher operational costs and reduced donations.

While many charities prefer cash, there are other ways you can help just by rolling up your sleeves.

1. Give blood

The need for blood never ends.

One in three Australians will need blood or blood products like plasma in their lifetime, but only one in 30 Aussies donate, and even fewer do it more than once.

Rising demand resulted in critical shortages across multiple blood types, as Lifeblood experienced the highest ever need for blood products.

Donating blood is already one of the most impactful ways to help others, and now it comes with a little extra thanks.

Red Cross Lifeblood has launched Lifeblood Gifts, a rewards program that celebrates regular donors.

For every third donation, you can choose a gift, whether its a stainless steel drink bottle or a cap proudly annoucing your donor status.

It's a way to keep the post-donation buzz going while recognising the life-saving contributions of everyday Australians.

Find out more: lifeblood.com.au.

2. Donate frequent flyer points

If your frequent flyer points are languishing during lockdown, there's good news: many frequent flyer programs will allow you to donate your points to charity.

Qantas Frequent Flyer offers a number of charities you can support with your points. These include Australian Red Cross, Make-A-Wish, Royal Flying Doctor Service, The Clontarf Foundation, The Fred Hollows Foundation, The Heart Foundation, The World Wide Fund for Nature Australia Charity Redemption (WWF), Unicef, Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, Indigenous Marathon Foundation, Beyond Blue, and Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

You can donate $25 to any of these charities for just 2900 points.

Virgin offers only one charity - the Starlight Children's Foundation - but for every point you are donating $1 to the charity.

Check with other airlines to find out your options.

Find out more: qantasstore.com.au.

3. Support a food pantry

You can donate food or goods to food banks around Australia or volunteer your time to help sort, label and pack items.

Foodbank needs donations of deodorant, soap and body wash, shampoo and conditioner, sanitary items, baby wipes and nappies, dishwashing liquid, canned food including fruit, vegetable, soup and fish, noodles, pasta, rice, baked beans, baby food and formula.

Check out your pantry to see what unopened food items you can donate.

And if you happened to buy a little too much toilet paper recently, Foodbank will gladly take it off your hands.

You can also check your local council website to find programs that support the needy in your area.

Find out more: foodbank.org.au.

4. Give toiletries

Domestic violence victims were isolated from vital support services including the Beauty Bank during COVID-19, says operations manager Denise Dolan.

Each month the organisation provides around 200 gift bags containing toiletries to women and men in need.

The need for items has increased during COVID, according to Dolan, and is expected to grow further in the next few months as unemployment and financial hardship soars.

While the charity was temporarily unable to receive donations as a result of COVID-19, and supermarket shortages and purchase limits meant they couldn't buy the necessary toiletries, the organisation is once again accepting donations from the public.

"During COVID we used up all our stocks of essentials and because of restrictions on certain items in shops we weren't able to build stocks up at that time. Now we're in full shopping mode while we pack our bags," Dolan says.

"We need shampoo, conditioner, soap, sanitary pads, roll-on deodorant for women, roll-on deodorant for men, disposable razors for women, disposable razors for men, single pack toothbrushes and new face washers."

Now is the time to sort through the all the toiletries you've been given but never used. Just remember that The Beauty Bank only accepts donations of unused items.

Find out more: thebeautybank.org.

5. Donate what you don't need

If you found yourself decluttering during lockdown, many charities are once again accepting donations of clothing and household items.

• Op Shop lists stores in Australia selling goods for community and charitable organisations so you can donate your unwanted clothes, furniture and other household items.
• Save the Children accepts donations of clothing, books, bric-a-brac, furniture, clothing and homewares.
• Salvation Army accepts donations of clothing, toys, books, CDs/DVDs, electrical goods, bric-a-brac and homewares.
• St Vincent de Paul Society accepts donations of clothing, homewares, toys, books, CDs/DVDs and furniture.
• Red Cross accepts donations of clothing, books and bric-a-brac.

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