WITH FEWER THAN 20

days before Christmas, the shopping season is racing ahead at full throttle. And here's a thought: As you hit the stores, buying gifts for everyone on your list, how about generating a charitable contribution to boot? While it should never replace the cash donations you make to your favorite charities, there are simple and painless ways to give a little back as you spend. Here are four ways to make it happen:

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Make the Most of Charitable Giving

Affinity Cards
Affinity cards send a percentage of each purchase to a partner charity. Bank of America's Sierra Club card, for example, donates an undisclosed amount when you open a new account, and 0.65% of each purchase thereafter. "It's a great way for these charities to raise money," says Curtis Arnold, founder of CardRatings.com, a consumer information web site focusing on credit cards. The Sierra Club has generated more than $1 million in donations since it began offering affinity cards in 1986.

But be warned: These aren't the greatest cards out there for many users. The interest rates tend to be hefty which can easily outweigh any donations accrued if you carry a balance. Take Chase's Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization card, which gives 1% rebates to fund breast cancer support programs. Most cardholders carry a variable rate of 16.24% or 23.24% well above the average standard card rate of 13.08% fixed (14.79% variable). (Only customers with superior credit ratings qualify for the 12.24% variable "Elite Pricing" rate.)

Credit-Card Rewards
Most generic credit-card rewards programs (whether you're accumulating points, miles or cash back) can be used for charitable donations. Here's how each option stacks up:

• Make the Most of Charitable Giving

• Cash.

  Debtsmart.com

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  A generic cash-back card can also easily beat out most affinity cards for rebates (and potential donations) accrued. Say, for example, you charge $2,500 per month, and want to give back to your local school. Using one of Target's Take Charge of Education cards, you'd earn rebates of 1% for purchases at Target; 0.5% for purchases anywhere else. That's an annual rebate of $162 (and we're being generous here, assuming you spent $200 per month at Target). Or you might use a Discover Platinum card, which offers up to 1% back on all purchases, plus bonus rebates of 5% in rotating "Get More" categories. (Through December, for example, cardholders get 5% back for restaurant, movie, book and music purchases.) Even if you managed to avoid spending in the bonus categories, your annual donation would be $300 nearly double that of the Target card.

• Points.

• Miles.

• GreaterGood.com:

• iGive.com:

Purchases for a Cause
When you buy a (Product) Red 4GB iPod Nano, $10 of the purchase price goes to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Every pink Yoplait yogurt lid you mail in generates 10 cents for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and the purchase of a Hurricane Relief T-shirt from Jetty sends 100% of profits to Habitat for Humanity.

Plenty of companies offer products that send all or a portion of profits to charity, a method called cause marketing. Just be realistic about how much you're really giving to the cause. Giving a little back while crossing another item off your holiday list isn't the same as pulling out that checkbook.

Charity Shopping Portals
For more ways to generate a charitable donation with every click of your mouse, see our column Charitable Clicking Here are two portals offering the service:

• Make the Most of Charitable Giving

• Cash.

  Debtsmart.com

  here

  A generic cash-back card can also easily beat out most affinity cards for rebates (and potential donations) accrued. Say, for example, you charge $2,500 per month, and want to give back to your local school. Using one of Target's Take Charge of Education cards, you'd earn rebates of 1% for purchases at Target; 0.5% for purchases anywhere else. That's an annual rebate of $162 (and we're being generous here, assuming you spent $200 per month at Target). Or you might use a Discover Platinum card, which offers up to 1% back on all purchases, plus bonus rebates of 5% in rotating "Get More" categories. (Through December, for example, cardholders get 5% back for restaurant, movie, book and music purchases.) Even if you managed to avoid spending in the bonus categories, your annual donation would be $300 nearly double that of the Target card.

• Points.

• Miles.

• GreaterGood.com:

• iGive.com: