When I was 9 years old, my mom began a non-profit animal rescue in our small town in mid-Michigan. In the past 13 years, Pet Angel Adoption and Rescue has become a successful, self-sustaining 5o1c3 non-profit that has rehomed over 1,200 cats.

I have worked at Pet Angel more than I would like to admit, and I often find people looking for ways to help us but are unable to write us a check or volunteer their time to help in the rescue itself. And guess what, THAT'S OKAY! Because there are other ways to help non-profits!

1. Peer-To-Peer Campaigns

Peer to peer fundraising is an individual creating a personal fundraising web page on a site, like GoFund me or even available o Facebook now, and asking their friends and acquaintances to donate to the charity via their site. So basically, you fundraise for the charity as your contribution. A lot of non-profits are getting into crowdfunding and peer to peer funding, so look into it!

2. Amazon Smile

It's exactly the same as normal Amazon, just a portion of your total goes to a non-profit your choice that is registered! So you literally do'thave to do anything, except type in a different name to your web browser when buying off Amazon. How easy is that?! Your favorite non-profit may be an option, and if it isn't, I'm sure you could find another non-profit that would be grateful for your support!

3. Donate Items

Many non-profits are in need of items you already have in your home. For example, the cat rescue is always in need of cat treats, towels, old sheets/blankets and toys. Other non-profits would take gently used clothing and even canned goods that you know you aren't going to use (like that off-brand, weird flavored soup that your significant other accidentally bought instead of what you actually wanted, even though you sent them to a store with a detailed list.) Just call your non-profit and see what they can use and start digging in your closets and cupboards!

4. Grocery Store Reward Programs

A lot of reward programs at grocery stores like Kroger, for example, has a part of their rewards program where a portion of your total goes to a non-profit of your choosing. See if your grocery store does this and sign up!

5. Goodsearch

Like Amazon smile, Goodsearch is a search engine that pays a small amount of money each time you search something. Although it is small, it's something. So instead of going straight to Google, try Goodsearch from now on. You literally don't have to change anything but the website you're typing in to make a difference.

6. Resqwalk

This is an app on your phone that donates money for how much you walk. All you have to do is have this app running in the background when you're out walking your dog, on your daily jog, or taking your bike to work and they do the rest. Easy way to make a difference!

These six, easy things don't really require you to take much time out of your day, or any money out of your pocket to contribute to your favorite non-profit. Trust me, every bit helps and warms the hearts of every volunteer and recepient of the non-profit.