Are you ready for #GivingTuesday?

Now that you’ve survived Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s time to kick off the charitable season by making a donation on Giving Tuesday. There are many ways to make a donation to Dollar Energy Fund. Here are some suggestions for how you can help local families maintain or restore basic gas, water and electric service today:

1. Check the Box on your monthly utility bill.  This is the easiest way to give to our organization.  Simply check the box on your utility bill to add a donation of $1 or more to your monthly bill.  The donation is automatically added and allows you to continue to make a difference throughout the year as you make your payments.  As more and more people are opting out of paper bills, we’ve made it easy for you to sign up online via our virtual Check the Box website.
2. Donate Online. Make your contribution to Dollar Energy Fund through our secure, web-based donation portal via credit card.
3. Mail a donation.  This may be old school, but it’s still a great way to help your neighbors in need.  Send your check made out to Dollar Energy Fund to Box 42329, Pittsburgh, PA 15203,  Unless you specify otherwise, all donations received will be used to help limited-income families in the state from which the donation was sent. If a donation is sent from a state that does not currently have a Dollar Energy Fund Hardship Program, one of our programs will be selected at the discretion of the organization to receive the support.
4. Use AmazonSmile when you shop on Amazon.com. AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) is a website operated by Amazon that lets customers shop for the same Amazon.com products with the added benefit of the AmazonSmile Foundation donating 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to the charitable organizations selected by customers. When first visiting AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization. Please make Dollar Energy Fund your charity of choice. Once selected, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price for eligible products to Dollar Energy Fund.
5. Show your support through Crowdrise.  Crowdrise is an innovative, cost-effective online fundraising website for individual fundraisers, non-profit fundraising and event fundraising. The site provides a way to easily raise money online for our cause by creating your own personal fundraiser for Dollar Energy Fund. Our organization’s fundraising page can be found by visiting www.crowdrise.com/dollarenergyfund.  We are currently raising funds for our upcoming event, the Cool Down For Warmth, which will be held in PPG Place in Downtown Pittsburgh on January 27 & 28, 2015.  If you would like to participate in the event as a fundraiser or contribute to a participant’s campaign, visit www.crowdrise.com/CoolDownForWarmth.
6. Donate proceeds from your Ebay sales.  Do you sell items on Ebay? You can support Dollar Energy Fund by donating a portion of your Ebay sales to our organization through their Giving Works program. Select Dollar Energy Fund as your nonprofit and set the donation percentage for your contribution to be directed towards helping your neighbors in need of utility assistance through our Hardship Program.
7. Make payroll donations through the United Way. Dollar Energy Fund receives support from a number of United Way chapters throughout Pennsylvania. Contact your local chapter to learn how to donate to Dollar Energy Fund through your local United Way campaign.  Dollar Energy Fund is a Contributor Choice Agency of the United Way of Allegheny County. The organization’s Contributor Choice Code is 836.
8. Submit Corporate Matching Donation Forms.  If you already made a donation to Dollar Energy Fund, please contact your employer to see if a matching program is available for your charitable contributions. Dollar Energy Fund is able to assist you in completing the necessary paperwork to determine matching fund eligibility. Corporate matching forms can be forwarded to donate@dollarenergy.org, or mailed to Dollar Energy Fund, Box 42329, Pittsburgh, PA 15203.

A donation to Dollar Energy Fund is a great way to maximize your charitable dollars because every donation, no matter how it is received, is always eligible to receive a dollar-for-dollar match from our partnering utility companies.  And, thanks to the generosity of those utility partners, 100 percent of all donations and matching funds are used to provide utility assistance grants to families in need.  Help spread cheer and help keep your neighbors in need warm this holiday season by donating to Dollar Energy Fund on #GivingTuesday.