Charitable contributions and the holiday season go hand in hand. But lately, event planners are finding that more and more events are incorporating charitable activities into events on a regular basis throughout the year. Keeping in line with the “less is more” mentality, organizations want to stretch event dollars as much as possible. By working with a charity, organizers and attendees can practice benevolence simply by attending an event. It’s an easy way to give back and a chance for organizations to integrate attendees outside interests into their event.

Here are some of our favorite charity ideas:

•  Host a charity walk or run. Encourage residents to come out and cheer on the runners and walkers. This is a great addition to an outdoor event. Set up areas where people can watch safely. Consider contacting certain celebrities who have participated in similar charitable events. If a celebrity is passionate about a certain cause, such as autism or breast cancer, they may be more willing to participate in your event.

•  Build a bike. This is an activity that takes about 2 hours. Usually you would partner with a local Boys and Girls club and literally construct a bike to be given to those kids at the end of the event. It is an excellent team building activity for employee events.
•  Silent auction. Hosting a small silent auction during the networking portion of your event allows attendees to shop and contribute to a cause. Solicit donations from your personal and professional connections, pick a charity and donate the funds to your chosen cause.
• Donate centerpieces. If you are unable to coordinate an interactive way to work with a charity you could simply donate your leftover centerpieces to your favorite charity. Or, collect non-perishable food items to be donated to local a food bank.

If you are interested in a particular charity and need to know if they are legitimate don’t forget to check it first on a site like www.charitynavigator.org.