How to Choose Gifts for All Occasions that Also Benefit Charities

With graduation and wedding season upon us, many people are starting to think about special gifts to give to friends and family in honor of these milestones. Meanwhile, many people's mailboxes are getting inundated with charity appeal letters, as so many organizations are lacking needed funds to carry out their endeavors. By buying gifts for family and friends where purchase proceeds benefit charity, you have the chance to honor the special occasion of your loved one while helping important causes at the same time.

Many nonprofits have online gift shops where collectively, something nice can be found for everyone on your list. Some retailers also donate a portion of profits to various causes. There are gift items with purchase proceeds helping to fund medical research, advocacy and support services for conditions ranging from cancer to diabetes to autism and more. Sales from some items support child welfare or homeless services agencies. Others support nonprofit arts institutions, environmental concerns, animal welfare organizations and other causes.

Whether you're searching for a great housewarming present, a baby shower or birthday gift; a Mother's Day or Father's Day present, a Valentine's gift or a present for any other occasion, an abundance of great gift choices can be found on the sites listed below.

1. For the fitness enthusiast on your list, check out the Lance Armstrong Foundation Livestrong Store at www.store-laf.org. Men's, women's and kids' sports apparel are available along with accessories like duffle bags and other gift items. Purchase proceeds benefit the Foundation's cancer-related programs.
2. Additional sports gear and accessory options can be purchased to support the autism awareness program, Lacrosse for Autism. For details visit www.lax4autism.com.
3. Another way to help the cause of autism is by purchasing gifts from Autism Speaks, an organization that funds autism-related biomedical research and provides related awareness and support services. Jewelry, ties, scarves and other gifts are available from this site. To check it out, visit www.autismspeaks.org.
4. For art connoisseurs, beautiful art products created by people whose lives have been affected by mental illness can be bought through NARSAD Artworks. Purchase proceeds benefit programs and research related to mental illness. Visit www.narsadartworks.org for information.
5. Additional exquisite art pieces and art-related gifts that support the Metropolitan Museum of Art and its programs can be bought from the online gift shop at www.metmuseum.org.
6. For movie buffs, proceeds from the purchase of the award winning documentary dvd, "Darius Goes West: the Roll of His Life" benefit Charley's Fund an organization that fights Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The dvd and other gifts supporting the cause can be purchased online at www.charleysfund.com.
7. To help the literacy, education, conservation and research goals of the National Geographic Society, shop from their web site at www.nationalgeographic.com.
8. To help Habitat for Humanity, an organization that works to end poverty housing and homelessness, a number of great gift options for men, women and children can be purchased at www.habitatstoreonline.com.
9. For music lovers, cds can be purchased that benefit Hungry For Music, a nonprofit organization that seeks to "inspire underprivileged children (and others) by bringing positive musical and creative experiences into their lives." For details, visit hungryformusic.com.
10. For products that support the cause of diabetes, visit the American Diabetes Association at www.diabetes.org.
11. For great gifts for tots that benefit the Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit that develops educational content to make an impact on children around the world, go to www.sesameworkshop.org.
12. For another way to help cancer-fighting initiatives, purchase goods from mugs to mouse pads that help the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund. These goods can be bought from www.cafepress.com/danafarber/5061795. For details on Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund, visit www.dana-farber.org.
13. For those looking for environmentally friendly gifts that also support the child welfare Tap Project initiative of Unicef, gifts can be purchased from the Water Geeks Laboratories at www.thewatergeeks.com. Unicef sells additional cards and gifts from their web site at www.unicef.org.
14. To support an arts program for children who are homeless, neat tote bags, shirts and other items can be bought from Drawbridge at www.drawbridge.org.
15. For items that support the Home for Little Wanderers, a family service agency that includes an adoption program, buy from their online gift shop at www.thehome.org.
16. To help heart healthy initiatives, you can support the American Heart Association by visiting the Shop Heart portion of their web site from www.americanheart.org.
17. To aid women who are homeless, you can purchase nice gifts that help Rosie's Place, a Boston, Massachusetts-based agency serving the needs of this group. Visit www.rosies.org for more information.
18. Those wishing to support an environmental organization can purchase backpacks, duffle bags and other items from the Sierra Club. The Massachusetts Chapter has an online gift shop at http://www.sierraclubmass.org/store/store.html
19. To support animal welfare, gifts can be purchased from the Humane Society of the United States at www.hsus.org.
20. To support the international family initiatives and research efforts of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, you can shop at www.pedaids.org.

If there's a cause that's dear to your heart and a site has not been included above, you may have luck finding a site by doing your own web search by entering "purchase proceeds benefit" and then the name of your cause on an Internet search engine. For more ideas on charitable gift-giving, check out Associated Content Source Amy Brantley's article, "Birthday Gifts that Support a Good Cause."

Happy gift giving.