Christmas cards remain a great way to spread some seasonal cheer, cement connections and send an on-brand festive message. For many of us, they are also an opportunity to support favoured charities and make a donation to causes that matter. When it comes to charitable Christmas cards there are different options to choose from, primarily real cards vs Ecards. So, which option is going to be the best one for you?
Why choose charitable Christmas cards?
Giving is what Christmas is all about, which is why it makes sense to choose charitable Christmas cards for sending your festive wishes out. This is an important time of year for many charitable organisations, as these donations can be substantial – and the cards themselves can also be a useful way for raising awareness, which is equally vital. However, it’s important to be aware of just how much of what you pay for your charitable Christmas cards actually ends up in the pocket of the charity. Recent research by Which?, for example, found that some big stores donate just 10p from the sale of every card to the charity. So, when you’re investing in charitable Christmas cards, make sure you know how much of your donation will end up with your chosen cause. This should be easy to find out, as companies are required by law to clearly state the donation amount on the card.
How to get your charitable Christmas cards
You can buy real charitable Christmas cards from big retailers, either online or in-store. Supermarkets are often a great source of charitable cards. It’s also simple to buy direct from the charity, whether that’s via mail order or an online store – this is one of the simplest ways to ensure that as much profit as possible ends up with the charity. It’s worth noting that many charities will sell through their trading company if they can’t be directly involved in commerce. There are also a number of online organisations that specifically sell charity Christmas cards, such as Cards for Charity. Real cards have the benefit of being something tangible that people can keep on shelves or desks and many of the designs are beautiful and evocative.
What about Ecards?
Over the past couple of years we have all become much more used to digital communications and so the popularity of Ecards has risen. Charities have tapped into this and today if you prefer to send your charitable Christmas cards via email then you can do this easily. There are some clear benefits to opting for Ecards including:
- There are no material costs involved in producing Ecards and overheads are low so the cost per card is lower than real cards.
- Given the low costs you’re likely to be able to send more for your budget.
- Postal strikes and delays won’t affect your Ecards.
- If you leave your Christmas cards to the last minute, Ecards will still arrive on time.
Whether you opt for real cards or Ecards this year, the charitable choice means you can give something to the causes that matter to you this Christmas.
