Have you heard of Chimp?

No, I’m not talking monkey business here — it’s an online charitable account for individuals that empowers personal giving choices. When you deposit money into your account, you receive a tax receipt immediately. The funds can then be given away or simply saved to give another day.

If you’re familiar with charitable lingo, your Chimp Account is like your own private foundation. Alternatively, you can think of it as a savings account for charity. Read more about Chimp Accounts. Chimp charges the lowest transaction fee in the country — 1%. And signing up for a Chimp Account is free. Learn more about fees.

I recently had an opportunity to explore the site and was given $160 –half to donate to a charity of my own personal choice and the other half to give to one lucky reader to donate to a charity of their choice.

The sign-up process was super quick and convenient – I was good to go in less than three minutes.

With so many amazing local charities to choose from, I had a tough decision making up my mind. However, I chose one that is near and dear to my heart – The Lookout Emergency Aid Society. If you had a chance to read the post I recently wrote about my father passing away in a transitional shelter on the downtown East Side, you’ll understand why.

It felt amazing to click send and give the gift of $80 — It might not be a lot, but I know that money will go to great use.

Wanna know more about Chimp? I’ve listed some important details below (also, make sure to read to the bottom for a chance to win $80 Chimp dollars). Here are three ways to give:

TO A CHARITY

You can give to any registered charity in Canada with Chimp, and you can choose whether you wish to remain anonymous.

TO A Giving Group

Support a group that’s raising funds for a good cause by contributing to their Giving Group. You can always choose to keep your gift amount anonymous.

TO A Friend’s Chimp Account

Give the gift of giving. Send a friend a gift of charitable dollars through Chimp, and let them decide the recipient. Your friend does not need to have a pre-existing Chimp Account; they’ll receive a personalized invitation to claim your gift, and can give it through Chimp to whatever cause they care most about. This is a great idea for the philanthropist on your holiday shopping list or that hard-to-shop for family member.

I’ve partnered with Chimp to give the gift of giving — $80 for your own personal Chimp account. You can give this to any registered charity listed in the system – whether it’s animals you’d like to save, support breast cancer research or the homeless,etc.,  it’s totally up to you!

To enter, let us know below in the comment section which charity you’d like to donate your $80 to (1 entry);

Copy, paste and tweet the following: (1 entry)

[box] RT I entered to win $80 Chimp dollars to donate to a charity of my choice thanks to @shesavalleymom & @wearechimp http://bit.ly/1xF6A1X [/box]

A winner will be chosen at random on Jan. 10. You must be 19+ to enter. Good luck xo

Valley Mom