This is a reminder that AirBnB has a special disaster relief program that helps connect those in need of temporary housing with generous hosts that are willing to open their homes free of charge to evacuees or relief workers. You can open your current Airbnb listing or sign up as a new host with a spare bedroom. I believe Airbnb is waiving all fees through at least November 29th for those affected by both the Northern and Southern California wildfires.

All new Airbnb users can get $40 off their first stay of $75+ via referral link.

Buzzfeed News has some other ways that you can help.

Tuesday, November 28th is Giving Tuesday 2017. Black Friday, Cyber Monday… don’t forget that this time of the year is also huge for charities. I’ve saw a stat that 40% of donations occur in the last six weeks of the year. Here are some ways you can make your donation go farther with a match.

Facebook/Gates Foundation match (good toward any charity that accepts donations via Facebook). Starting at 8am Eastern on 11/28, Facebook and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match $2 million in donations to U.S. nonprofits – up to $50,000 per nonprofit and $1,000 per fundraiser or donate button on Facebook. In addition, all transaction and processing fees with be waived for this day – usually Facebook charges a 5% fee. The donation must be made through a fundraiser for a nonprofit, a donate button on a post, a donate button on a Page or a donate button on a live video.

For example, give directly with the donate button on the The Humane Society Facebook Page. You can also start your own fundraiser here or simply post up a donate button to support your favorite charity.

Check for an employer match. Try this lookup tool from DoubleTheDonation. Most of these programs don’t require you to actually give on a specific day, but you may want to start the process today so you don’t forget in the holiday rush.

Individual charities. The following large charities have organized their own matches.

• American Red Cross – “Match up to $100,000”
• Heifer International – “Every gift is matched on Giving Tuesday”
• Best Friends Animal Society – “All donations matched until midnight”
• UNICEF USA – Triple your donation. “All gifts up to a maximum of $5,000 made before midnight, November 28th, 2017, will be matched $3 for $1, up to a maximum of $250,000.”
• Feeding America – “Double your impact”
• Michael J Fox Foundation – “All donations will be matched on Giving Tuesday, between 12:00 AM EST on November 28 and 3:00 AM EST on November 29, as we raise $1 million in one day for Parkinson’s research.”

Many local charities may also have matching grants today.

PayPal +1%. A dollar-for-dollar match is +100%. From 11/28 through 12/31/17, PayPal will add 1% to donations that you make through the PayPal Giving Fund. In addition, PayPal will not charge any transaction fees to the charity. That makes this offer not so good on Giving Tuesday perhaps, but afterward it is still something.

You must use your PayPal account. The minimum donation is $10. As far as I can tell, you can link up any rewards credit card of your choice and use that as the funding source. Your donation will technically be given to the PayPal Giving Fund, an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and then disbursed to your selected nonprofit. It will still be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. One catch is that the charity has to participate in their PayPal Giving Fund in order to get the money.

Having trouble deciding where to give? Here are some charity comparison sites that will help you pick where to send your help.

• CharityNavigator – Largest and well-publicized charity rating site, provides a 4-star rating based primarily on financial criteria.
• GiveWell – Tries to identify the best charities, not rate them all. Focused primarily on charities working internationally
• GreatNonProfits – Allows clients, volunteers, and funders to post personal reviews based on their experiences.
• GuideStar – Tries to be a one-stop shop for both financial data and personal reviews of charities. Must register to see a lot of things, and pay a subscription fee for premium in-depth data.
• Philanthropedia – Ranks non-profits based on opinions of experts, and groups them to mutual fund-like portfolios.

Our next re-branded day is Giving Tuesday, which this year falls on November 29th, 2016. After you’ve celebrated Thanksgiving and then survived Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, the focus is back on helping others less fortunate than you. You optimize your earning and your spending, now here’s some final tips to optimize the positive impact of your charitable giving.

Check if your employer will match the charitable donations of employees. If you’re not sure, try this lookup tool from DoubleTheDonation. Most of these programs don’t require you to actually give on a specific day, but you may want to start the process today so you don’t forget in the holiday rush.

PayPal 1% Donation Match + Waived Transaction Fees. From 11/29 through 12/31/16, PayPal will add 1% to donations that you make through the PayPal Giving Fund. In addition, PayPal will not charge any transaction fees to you or the charity itself (which is not true of most other charity payment networks). The minimum donation is $10.

You must use your PayPal account. As far as I can tell, you can link up any rewards credit card of your choice and use that as the funding source. Your donation will technically be given to the PayPal Giving Fund, an IRS-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and then disbursed to your selected nonprofit. It will still be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Other donation portals do this re-routing as well.

The only catch is that the charity has to participate in their PayPal Giving Fund, so it may not include your charity of choice.

Having trouble deciding where to give? Here are some charity comparison sites that will help you pick where to send your help.

• CharityNavigator – Largest and well-publicized charity rating site, provides a 4-star rating based primarily on financial criteria.
• GiveWell – Tries to identify the best charities, not rate them all. Focused primarily on charities working internationally
• GreatNonProfits – Allows clients, volunteers, and funders to post personal reviews based on their experiences.
• GuideStar – Tries to be a one-stop shop for both financial data and personal reviews of charities. Must register to see a lot of things, and pay a subscription fee for premium in-depth data.
• Philanthropedia – Ranks non-profits based on opinions of experts, and groups them to mutual fund-like portfolios.

If you celebrate Christmas, you may have seen this quote about keeping with true values behind the holiday:

Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you. – Steve Maraboli

Along those lines, now is the time that many people donate to the charities of their choice (plus it’s the end of the tax year). Carl Richards of the NY Times makes a good point it that you should create a charitable giving plan and then stop feeling guilty all those other times you get asked for money.

Whether you donate time, money, or whatever, make a conscious choice as to where to give. Use the best charity comparison websites to find those that are financially healthy, committed to accountability and transparency, and creating measurable results. I wish there was an option for charities that promise not to bombard you with future letters asking for more money. Arrgh.

We created our first charitable giving plan in 2010 and have been doing it every year since. It definitely helps to sit down with each other and discuss our priorities. Some of the charities have changed, but I’m happy to say the total amount donated has grown.

I won’t lie, it also makes me feel better about the huge pile of presents our two little girls have from our generous friends and family!