Charities Target Smaller Donations in Tight Holiday Season

With the lingering recession expected to cut into holiday giving, charities are soliciting smaller donations and increasingly using free social media to publicize their efforts, The Seattle Times reports.

The King County, Wash., United Way has begun a campaign seeking $10 donations for struggling families and offering online donors an option to forward an appeal to 10 friends. Mercy Corps, in Portland, Ore., has introduced an online tool allowing families and groups of friends to make collective contributions.

Recent polls offer mixed prospects for holiday giving. Less than two-fifths of respondents to a recent Harris Interactive survey said they planned to give charity gifts this season, down from nearly half last year. But according to an American Red Cross poll, Americans are far more likely to economize on travel or holiday decorations than on giving.