There are so many places seeking unpaid workers (volunteers) and there are so many worthy non-profits to send (potentially tax-deductible) monetary donations to.
Sometimes I think the best way to give is when you get no credit or recognition other than perhaps a personal sense of satisfaction that you helped someone. Since we still have cash, may I suggest that you play secret benefactor to a friend or relative or stranger with it?
The first time I did this I was visiting a distant relative. She had just enough to pay her bills but I knew things were a bit tight for her during the holidays when she could not afford to give her grandchildren more than token gifts. The family wasn't materialistic. They were devout Christians who felt there was no reason for Christmas without a belief in Christ. Still, children are children and love getting something unexpected. So I went to visit during a small get together, used the bathroom, and tucked cash money behind some items in her medicine cabinet. She mentioned the discovery of this money to me a few months later on the phone. I didn't confess.
A friend sent fifty cash dollars in an envelope to her friend who was going through a divorce in a Christmas card. Her friend said "someone" had done this and "forgotten" to sign the card.
Another friend owed $250 to a man who had been a platonic friend when he went and paid her storage unit at a time when she was ill. It took her a while to earn the money she owed him and during that time he had met and moved in with a woman and their platonic friendship had ended due to his interest in this new love. After some time she learned where he lived. So she hired a delivery man to go there and ask for him. When this man who had been generous and helpful came to the door. The delivery man handed over a small Christmas box with $500 in cash in it to him.
You don't have to be rich to play Secret Benefactor. If you have many young nephews and nieces, sending them a handmade Christmas card with even a dollar or two, can be a big deal for them, some money of their own to spend as they please or save - in that gumball machine.
I had an elderly friend some years ago who himself had not a lot of money. His daughter would give him $20 once in a while, expecting he would go to a coffee house and sit a while, using the money for coffee. He never failed to buy a coffee for someone else - usually someone he saw hanging out without spending. He remembered being a "country bumpkin" who had gotten stranded in a big city overnight in his youth and having to ask strangers for money so that he could have something to eat while he waited for his dad to come get him. I'm sure he has been blessed for his kindness to others.
Playing it Forward can also be rewarding. I volunteered recently at a bake sale where there were lots of goodies for children. A man came in and handed me $10 and said to give the next ten children a free goodie on him.
I know you won't have to think too hard about being a Secret Benefactor... it's FUN!
Missy
(Try to research organizations that ask for contributions so that you know a bit more what you are supporting with your money. A Non Profit porthole type site for your state may be on the Internet.)
Missy
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