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Some of the most useful donations happen on a schedule: shoeboxes in November, toys and coats before the holidays, food in the spring, school supplies in late summer. Here's what's coming up. Dates marked in green are confirmed by the organizer; the rest show the usual timing, so check the link for your area.
Pack an empty shoebox for a child and take it to a drop-off location during National Collection Week; the organizer's site has a city/ZIP drop-off finder and a list of items to leave out (food, candy, liquids, breakables, used items). Boxes can also be built online.
Find your local food bank with Feeding America's ZIP code locator and check its listed hours and most-needed items before dropping off. Feeding America advises against donating turkeys, leftovers, fresh produce or food near its expiration date.
Pick an Angel tag at a participating retailer or online, shop from the wish list, and return the gifts unwrapped and unopened with the tag attached by your local Salvation Army's deadline. Use the Salvation Army location finder to get local dates.
Look up your local Toys for Tots campaign on toysfortots.org (or its mobile app) to find drop box locations and that campaign's collection deadline. Toys must be new and unwrapped.
Search your ZIP code on One Warm Coat's map to find an active coat drive near you; coats are given out in the community where they are collected. All coats should be clean and wearable.
GivingTuesday is a worldwide day of generosity held the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Many local charities post wish lists or run drives that day, so check with the groups you want to support.
There is no single national spring drive; donate through local thrift stores, charities and community collection events. Call ahead for bulky items like furniture.
Drop off unneeded medications at a participating collection site on Take Back Day; DEA's site has a collection site locator. Year-round authorized disposal sites can be found with DEA's year-round drug disposal search.
On drive day, leave a bag of non-perishable food by your mailbox and your letter carrier collects it for local food banks. Participation depends on your local branch, so check NALC's site or your local post office.
Move-out drives are run locally by individual colleges and their partners, not nationally. Check with the campus housing or sustainability office for collection dates and accepted items.
National VOAD says cash is best and asks people not to send or bring unsolicited donations; FEMA likewise advises against sending unsolicited donated goods after a disaster. Give money to a recognized relief organization, and donate goods only when a group has asked for specific items.
Operation Homefront's yearly Back-to-School Brigade collects and gives out school supplies to children of military families; the public can volunteer or donate through its site. Many schools, churches and local nonprofits run their own supply drives in the same season.
Drop off unneeded medications at a participating collection site on Take Back Day, or use DEA's year-round drug disposal search to find an authorized collector any time.
One Warm Coat marks National Share the Warmth Day each October to kick off coat giving; search its map by ZIP code to find an active coat drive near you.
After a hurricane or other disaster, relief groups ask for cash, not clothes or supplies, unless a local group asks for specific items.