Charitable giving un-crunched

Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: "One year on from the start of the credit crunch and we are all feeling the pinch. Food and fuel bills have sky rocketed and mortgage rates have been at the some of the highest levels ever seen.

"It is therefore no wonder that donating to charity is likely to be far from many people's minds. However, there are ways of donating to charity, without having to put your hand in your pocket.

Charity savings accounts

"The institution makes a donation to the selected charity, typically around 1% of the balance of your account.

"Savers should be warned that these accounts do not pay the highest rates on the market. By donating to charity, you could be losing out on additional interest from having your money in a best-buy account. However, it is worth noting that the majority of charity savings accounts are branch based accounts and the rates on offer are equal to other branch based accounts on the market.

"There are numerous charity savings accounts on the market, with affiliations to many worthy causes such as hospices, air ambulances and wildlife trusts. So whatever your chosen charity, you can make a donation just by having your money in a savings account.

Charity credit cards

"A donation of up to £25 is made when the card is first issued or used. After this the card issuer will donate typically 0.25% of the value of purchases made. With some cards making a further donation after around six months of using the card.

"These cards do not offer the longest deals on the market, but with introductory purchases deals of 0% for six months and balance transfer deals of 0% for twelve months, they are not far off the market leading deals.

"Another pitfall with these cards is that many charge high purchase APR's, with rates of 18.9% quite common. However, rates as low as 11.9% can be found and many charge rates around the market average. If you pay your balance off in full each month the APR is unimportant and you can donate to your chosen charity without paying a penny in interest.

"Many people like to feel they are doing their bit and when times are hard, this is an ideal way of donating without it having to cost you a penny.

"However, many consumers may prefer the option of seeking out the highest savings rate on offer, or finding the longest 0% deal and then making a donation to charity from the money they save."