Give a little, get a little–where do your charitable dollars go?

In tough economic times, most of us don’t even have any “charity dollars,” at least not in a big-dollar kind of way.  But even if money’s tight, you can still donate small amounts to your favorite charities–every little bit really does help–and often receive a logo product of some kind in return.

You already know you can shop online with many charities and online stores like GreaterGood.com, whose profits go to fund a variety of charities, but don’t overlook the freebies that you can get just for donating small amounts to certain charities.

The environment is one of my pet issues, so that’s what I’ll highlight here, but just about every large-scale charitable group will offer anything from reusable grocery bags to greeting cards to t-shirts as a thank you for a nominal donation from $10 to $25.

For a $25 donation to the World Wildlife Fund, you can choose from an assortment of thank-you gifts, including a t-shirt, a pair of metal logo water bottles or a couple of reusable shopping bags.  You’ll also get (as is the case with most organizations) a subscription to their bi-monthly magazine, so you can keep up with the work they’re doing.

A $15 donation to the Sierra Club will get you a free canvas rucksack modeled after the one carried by Sierra Club founder John Muir, and will also get you the usual membership benefits, including a subscription to the outstanding Sierra magazine.

You can also, of course, opt out of receiving the free gifts to maximize your donation, and that’s a feel-good freebie in itself.

Most of the gifts offered in exchange for a small donation are utilitarian–stuff you’ll almost definitely find a way to use, and it gets their logo out there.  Wearing your charitable (if logo-ized) heart on your sleeve, if you will.

There are an almost infinite number of charitable organizations out there, many of which offer gifts with a donation.  What are your favorites?  Where do you spend your charitable dollars?  I’ve only listed a couple here, so use the comments section below to add your favorite charity to the list!