20 Ways to Give Without Giving "Stuff"

A Water Buffalo ... or a Bee Hive ... or ...

Heifer International's mission is to help struggling communities end hunger and poverty through the gift of livestock, bees, seeds, farming tools and the know-how to reap a sustainable harvest from them. Heifer offers a wide variety of options, from a $250 water buffalo to $30 honey bees to a $150 llama that can provide wool, milk and meat for an entire South American family. Learn more at heifer.org, 1-800-422-0474.

The Nature Conservancy is responsible for preserving scenic and ecologically important land around the world. The non-profit land trust has three gift options this year that allow you to help plant a billion trees in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, adopt an acre in Las Californias, U.S. or coral reefs in Palau, or grant a number of other unique gift options. $10 and up at nature.org.

Want to give a gift that helps fight climate change? Consider protecting an acre of rainforest in honor of a loved one. More than 20 percent of all carbon emissions come from cutting down and clearing of tropical forests - more than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world. Just $15 dollars protects an entire acre of precious rainforest and prevents climate change causing gases from being emitted. A gift of a protected acre of rainforest is really a gift to the planet - for all of us.

Source: http://green.msn.com/Home/Experiential-Charitable-and-Volunteer-Gifts-to-Surprise-and-Delight/