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How to shop for suburban charities to donate money to

Donating in someone's name an increasingly popular gift

What do you get that someone who has everything?

How about nothing, and instead find someone who needs it more?

That's essentially the philosophy behind donating to a charity in someone's name in lieu of a present. And the horde of suburban charities are always thankful for that altruism this time of year.

“The key in recent years has been finding a way to make it easier,” said Liz Eakins, executive director of the St. Charles-based Lazarus House, which offers a number of shelter-related programs for the poor. “We did something new this year and instead of having this form that they cut out in our quarterly newsletter, we actually put slips half-inserted into envelopes.”

And that's already paying dividends.

“We've already gotten 25 or so back,” Eakins said. “In the past, we may average 25 for the whole season.”

At OMNI Youth Services based in Buffalo Grove, they're promoting the organization's online donation page.

“We see more people using that every year,” said Chrissy Trilling-Raices. “But we've seen small increases over the years, and I think that's because it's gotten easier to do.”

Omni provides a variety of programming for at-risk youngsters in 25 suburbs.

“And we have a donation form that specifically addresses these types of gifts and how someone might like the money to be spent,” Trilling-Raices said.

In return, the charities send a thank-you to the donor and an acknowledgment to the person who was being recognized by the donation. Charity officials said they don't want to be too ostentatious with the gratitude because that diverts the charity's funds from its programming. Most simply send a letter with a personalized message.

“No, we're not going to tag a (fish) with the person's name on it,” joked Jennifer Caddick, a spokeswoman for the Alliance for the Great Lakes, a nonprofit that works to maintain the environmental health of the five Great Lakes. “I think the best part of these types of gifts is it allows somebody to find something that someone really cares about and then help them out.”

While most charity officials said these types of altruistic donations don't account for much of their groups' fundraising efforts, most come this time of year.

“We do see a pickup in activity,” Trilling-Raices said. “Usually about 30 percent to 40 percent of these gifts come in December.”

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