Spend to mend

Giving to charity doesn't always involve handing over hard cash. You can support your favourite causes indirectly, through charity shops, credit cards, savings accounts and recycling schemes.But the amount of money that actually reaches the front line depends on how you give and it can vary massively.

Charity credit cards
Taking out a charity credit card could take at least some of the guilt out of your next spending spree. Charity cards make donations in two ways - an upfront payment on first use, then a small percentage of any subsequent spending. That initial donation ranges from £1 to the World Wildlife Fund, to £25 paid to the British Heart Foundation, according to website Moneysupermarket, which compares rates by leading cards. Nationwide's Comic Relief card is generous, with an initial donation of £5.65 and an impressive 50p for every £100 you subsequently spend. But ChildLine makes an initial donation of £3 followed by just 15p for every £100 spent.

Unfortunately, most of these cards charge a typical annual percentage rate (APR) of around 15.9%, which means you could get lower rates elsewhere. If you don't clear your outstanding bill every month, using a charity card could cost you dear, says Peter Gerrard, senior researcher at Moneysupermarket. "It would make more sense to choose a card with a lower APR and contribute direct to your favourite charity instead," he says.

Charity shops
Charity shops are a great place to buy everything from second hand clothes to ethnic nick nacks, but where does your money go? A good chunk goes on rent and rates, heating and lighting, staff salaries and national insurance. The remainder goes to the charity, says Jo Stetzel, marketing manager at the Association of Charity Shops. "The good news is that there is no third party creaming off any of the profit," she says.

For every £1 you spend in one of Cancer Research UK's 600-plus shops, it makes 23.5p, or a hugely valuable £14m a year. Oxfam makes 28p for every £1 spent, while Save The Children makes 35.5p. The top performer is St Rocco's Hospice in Warrington, whose shops hand over 81p for every £1 spent.

Christmas cards
Some charity Christmas cards are so stingy they would make Scrooge blush. Last year, John Lewis sold cards in aid of the Royal Academy for which just 1.5% of the cover price went to the cause. Some of the card ranges sold in Harrods and Fenwicks were little better, according to the annual survey by the Charities Advisory Trust. WH Smith typically passed on 5%, while Boots and Marks & Spencer donated 10%. Clinton Cards handed over most on the high street, 21%, although its labelling wrongly suggested 25% was being handed over.

If you want to make the most of your donation, look for cards sold by Card Aid, online and in 40 temporary shops at sites such as St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, and St Helen's Church in York. All profits go to charity, which adds up to between 35% and 60% of the cover price. Or buy your Christmas cards is from a charity shop, where all profits - typically 25% or more - go to the charity.

And remember charity cards aren't only for Christmas. Cancer Research UK runs a chain of shops called Wishes selling a selection of cards for other occasions, as well as gifts and stationery.

Charity banking
Banks aren't exactly famous for their charity, but Triodos Bank is one exception. Its current accounts, saving schemes and Isas only finance businesses and organisations that benefit people and the environment. You can choose an account that supports your favourite cause, whether human rights, global development, fair trade, social housing, organic farming or even Buddhist businesses.

Unfortunately, its interest rates aren't quite so laudable. Rates on the Charity Saver account start at just 2.25% on £500, and rise to 2.76% on £25,000. ING Direct, by comparison, pays 4.75% on all balances from just £1. Mark Dampier, head of research at IFA Hargreaves Lansdown , applauds the principles behind charity banking, but not the practicalities. "Charity and financial services are different things, don't confuse the two," he says. "You could give more by choosing a best-buy savings account and donating the interest to your favourite cause."

Giving shares
Another option is to hand over unwanted shares to charity. Two organisations called ShareGift and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) can help you do this. ShareGift collects tiny shareholdings that would be uneconomic to sell individually. When it has collected enough to make it worthwhile, it sells the shares and donates the proceeds to charities such as Victim Support. CAF accepts donations of shares, land, property or works of art, which it sells on your behalf. This can help you get income tax relief and avoid capital gains tax.

Recycling
Instead of binning your old mobile phone or printer cartridges, do your bit for charity and the planet by donating them to charity. Schemes such as the Recycling Appeal typically donate £1 to the charity of your choice for an old printer cartridge, and £5 for a mobile phone (rising to as much as £30 on more popular handsets). Printer cartridges are filled and resold, phones either repaired and sold or shipped to developing countries. Oxfam also accepts old mobile phones under its "Bring Bring" scheme and also recycles printer cartridges.

For information on the most effective ways to give cash to charity, click here
For more about National Giving Week, which runs from October 17 to 23, visit www.nationalgivingweek.org