It’s called Love Drop.

Co-founded by fellow financial blogger J. Money of Budgets Are Sexy, Love Drop is a new way that people can come together to make small contributions that will have a big impact on others’ lives. Here’s more (from their Website):

Love Drop is a micro-giving network of people who unite as a community to help one person or family a month. By subscribing to the team for as little as $1, we make it easy for our members to change lives in a fun and tangible way. Each month Love Drop delivers a unique combination of unexpected financial gifts, personal encouragement and the support of local and online communities.

Love Drop officially launches on 1.1.11. Because I think idea is so awesome, I asked J. to share a little bit more about the project:

DAVID: From my understanding, community members will choose Love Drop recipients. How will this work—and what kinds of help do you envision Love Drop will provide?

J$: Yup, every single member of our team can recommend someone close to them who’s going through a tough time, and every month we’ll review each of them and pick the one person/family we think Love Drop can directly help the most. It’ll be pretty challenging without a doubt (we’ll want to help EVERYONE!), but there’s incredible power in focusing hundreds of hearts toward one main mission every month.

We’ll be giving a wide mixture of financial goods and services to all our recipients this year, but we’re also offering them a chance to pay it forward. We want to do more than just swoop in and drop a pile of money on someone–we want to empower them and really show what a community can do when they come together for something bigger than themselves.

DAVID: So I know Love Drop is a collaboration betwen you and Nate St. Pierre, who founded ItStartsWith.us. Once you realized you wanted to work together, how did you guys come up with the idea for Love Drop?

J$: Interestingly enough, we both had the SAME exact idea over a year ago! But it wasn’t until we were introduced by a good friend of ours (yeah, Jenny Blake!) that we realized the strength of combining our goals and networks. With his group of micro time givers, and my personal finance background, Love Drop was the perfect mash-up to create something fun and lasting.

It took us a while to figure out some of the structure of it, but we’re excited with our final product and ready to get out there and finally DO SOME GOOD.

DAVID: One thing I have to mention is that you structured love drop as a sustainable for-profit company; not a charity. You talk a little bit about this on your FAQ page, but can you say more about why you went this route? You know, to that skeptical guy in the back who raised his eyebrow?

J$: Haha, sure. The question of the day, right? It’s actually pretty straightforward–we wanted to build something super simple and scalable where we can focus on the “doing of good” over the red tape and restrictions a charity can bring.

Love Drop had been a constant work in progress for the last seven months, but it wasn’t until we realized we could create our own little hybrid here that we really got this thing in motion. Within 24 hours of this epiphany, we had our first version of our site live and over 15 new members to our team!! That was pretty eye opening for us, and proves that at the end of the day people just want to help. Yeah, we’ll lose some who feel more comfortable giving to a 501c(3)–and that’s totally cool!–we’re just offering another fun, and creative, way to get out there and directly make a difference.

DAVID: People can get involved with Love Drop by buying memberships for as little as $1 a month, but you also have an option for those who can’t afford or choose not to subscribe, called the Street Team. What is it?

J$: Right. Anyone can give as little as $1/mo all the way up to $100/mo+, all depending on what they’re comfortable with. Ultimately though, our organization is more about coming together as a community than it is about the money. So we created the Street Team to help spread the word about what we’re doing here, and to get others involved in helping out and really pushing Love Drop forward. If you believe in what we’re doing, and want to be around some pretty cool people, we’d love to have you on board

DAVID: Love Drop officially launches 1.1.11. What can we expect?

J$: A lot of fun, excitement, and tears! I don’t think we fully realize the amount of people hurting out there, and it’s gonna be our job to tell the stories and really show how EASY it is for any of us to change a life. By combining the power of online and offline communities (we’re literally going to the homes of every single person we’re helping), we hope Love Drop inspires others to get out there and pay it forward.

Many thanks to J for his time on this interview—and for all his work on Love Drop! If this strikes a chord with you—get involved with Love Drop now. (And don’t forget to let us know if you do, and what you think!)

Volunteer

The tried and true way to pitch in when you’re penniless yourself is to volunteer. It could be a local soup kitchen, hospital, or action group. I’ve worked previously with of the Hands On Network, which helps links volunteers with projects nationwide.

Donate your frequent flyer miles

Many airlines (including Continental, Delta, and United) allow you to donate unused frequent flyer miles to a number of charities; a great way to give without missing the money.

Shop for a cause

A number of “charity shopping portals” chip into a cause with every purchase you make. Check out one The Hunger Site Store, iGive, and OneCause.

Sell some stuff for charity

While you can always take your unused clothes and other household items to Goodwill or other charitable thrift stores, you can also clean out your attic on eBay or Craigslist and give some or all of your proceeds away.

Do you have a way of giving that doesn’t involve giving your own cash?

Misleading clothing donation boxes

I learned about for-profit clothing drop boxes a couple weeks ago when my parents told me about a bright red donation dumpster they saw in a shopping center parking lot. When they red the fine print, they realized the drop box was not sponsored by Goodwill, the Salvation Army, or another charity, but a for-profit company that donated a tiny percentage of its profits to charitable causes. The practice is misleading at best, illegal at worst.

Clothing recycling boxes

While some companies solicit clothing donations under the guise of charity, others—like U’SAgain—are unashamed to be collecting your old clothes and making a buck.

Unscrupulous charities

Finally, there are even some non-profit organizations soliciting clothing donations that you may want to avoid. Planet Aid is one such company that has drop boxes in certain locations around the country and brags supporting a variety of causes in Africa. There are allegations, however, that Planet Aid, U’SAgain, and other clothing recyclers have links to criminal organizations.

Whether or not the group skirts the law, annual reports reveal that just 11 percent of Planet Aid’s income goes to charity. While non-profit organizations cost money to operate, it seems reasonable to question just how Planet Aid spends the other 89 percent.

How do you find a legitimate charity that accepts clothing donations?

While many charities may be able to put your garments to good use, the Salvation Army and Goodwill are two widespread and reliable charitable recyclers. With some exceptions, however, these groups are likely to have fewer stand-alone drop boxes. To donate clothing, you may have to drive to a thrift store or staffed drop location.

Locate a Salvation Army or Goodwill clothing donation site now.