Change by Doing Explore the world of volunteering and service

This is a great idea, based in the UK. FairShare Music does good things with great music. Just like all the rest of the music download sites on the web, they offer tons of songs (over 13.5 million tracks with new releases coming out all the time) legally–not pirating–and for every song you download, they give half the profits to the charity of your choice. They embed generosity into music–one of the inspiring and comforting things you already do for yourself. It’s so simple, really. They currently partner with 18 great charities (Amnesty.org.uk the British arm of Amnesty International, the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, Centre Point for homeless youth, Friends of the Earth, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, NSPCC to end cruelty to children, Oxfam, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sue Ryder Care for people with life-changing illness, the Teenage Cancer Trust, V-Inspired to get youth involved in volunteer service, Virgin Unite the charitable arm of Virgin Airlines and Sir Richard Branson, War Child protecting children from war and helping the recover from its effects, World Wildlife Fund, and Youth Music to empower young people through the arts.

Next time you find a brilliant new band on Spotify or Pandora or from a friend’s recommendation, think about spreading the wealth for something you would do anyway. It is effortless giving…we can all afford that.