Register for Charity

Today is our fourth issue on "Weddings with Heart" and I want to share with you how you can register for charity.  By that, I mean that instead of (or along with) registering at your favorite store for china and the like, you can actually register for people to give to your favorite charity.

There are a couple of ways to do this:

1. You can print directly on your invitations "In lieu of gifts we would appreciate donations toward our favorite charity, _______."  There are two major downfalls to this method.  The first is that it could be seen as rude to ask people to bring money to your wedding reception.  It is not exactly proper etiquette to ask your guests in this method to donate money, so be sure to weigh this in your decision.  And, second, you probably will not have a way to track the amount your guests have donated, unless you are sure to add something like, "A card box will be available to collect your donation." It would be fun to share at your wedding the total of what your guests have given, so if you can find a tactful way to ask them to bring or send their checks for your charity, that would be best.  Again, though, this is definitely not proper etiquette.
   
   
2. You can place a link on the registry page of your wedding website.  For example, check out my wedding website at: http://www.bwedd.com/truecompanions/registry.asp  There is a link under "Stores" with a note on why we would appreciate donations to our favorite charity.  You can sign up for your own Bwedd.com wedding website or read more about bwedd.com's wedding websites.
   
   
3. There is a great organization called the I Do Foundation that allows you to setup an account with them and then register for your wedding gifts at certain participating stores (for example, Marshall Field's, Target, Linens 'N' Things and more!). When your guests purchase gifts at those stores, the stores will donate to the I Do Foundation, which will then distribute the money on a quarterly basis to a number of charities.  You can nominate a charity to receive donations and the I Do Foundation will put them through a screening process in order to see if they are a legitimate non-profit and responsible organization.

Using the I Do Foundation's website is not only a great way to still receive gifts, but also give to some great organizations!  If you were going to register at one of these stores anyway, you may as well do it through their website - and you can still place a link to your I Do Foundation website from your wedding website!

No matter how you do it, though, using your wedding registry as a method to give to charity is a great idea - one we really hope you will consider to make your wedding have a heart!

Best Wishes,
Kelly Kons
http://www.bwedd.com/truecompanions/

* Please note: Brilliant Wedding Pages and Brilliance Web Design, Inc. will not be held responsible for any experiences you may have with the services or products of companies listed above, online or other.