15 Things You Can Donate for Money

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These days, the United States seems to be a place where “living the dream” requires at least three side hustles. You might wonder how to tap into all areas of making extra money while still being able to sleep or keep your blood pressure in check.

If the thought of needles in your arm makes you squeamish or fearful, however, you can also donate — or lend — your belongings for a profit.

Let’s dig into the specifics and break down what you can donate to make money and how you might find your next side gig for some extra cash.

Quick Take: What Can I Donate To Make Money?

The best way to make quick money is finding things you have that other people want and sell or donate them at a profit. This ranges from yard space for pets to play, rooms in your home for vacationers, parts of your body — and even your entire body to science.

Here’s a look at what you can donate to make money:

1. Your Hair

You earn between $100 and $4,000 by donating your healthy, unbleached, untreated hair. Most places paying for hair want locks of 10 inches or longer. Hair donations will typically be used for wigs.

2. Plasma

Plasma donation can be a lucrative — and easy — way to earn extra cash. Plasma centers pay anywhere from $20 to $100 per donation, based on your location, weight and how often you donate.

You can donate plasma for money twice within per week, but not more than once in 48 hours. Of course, the more you donate, the more you can earn. Donating plasma is different than donating blood, as blood is a voluntary donation typically through drives like the Red Cross.

3. Bone Marrow

It used to be illegal to donate bone marrow for money. In 2011, however, a California court case ruled that bone marrow donation is now legal. That’s because donors can undergo easier, non-surgical extraction.

You could get as much as $700 for bone marrow extracted during a one-hour procedure, according to MedPage Today. And don’t worry — there are no side effects as your bone marrow grows back.

4. Sperm

Most people know that you can sell your sperm for money. But you must meet some strict qualifications — only about 1% of applicants are accepted, according to MedPage Today. Those who qualify can donate up to twice a week and earn roughly $125 per donation.

5. Eggs

Women can help those struggling with infertility through egg donations. The process is more invasive than sperm donation, but it also pays better. Egg donors have all medical expenses, attorney fees and travel expenses paid, as well as a $100 per diem if you travel. The Egg Donor America website says the egg donor typically receives $5,000 to $10,000, including fees and compensation.  

6. Uterus

If you have a uterus, you may not want to donate it in the conventional sense. But you can rent it out for a hefty sum. Typical lease lengths are 40 weeks, and the tenants tend to be quiet — at least until they move out!

Kidding aside, being a surrogate for someone who can’t carry their own baby can be emotionally and financially rewarding. Surrogate Alternatives says that surrogates can earn up to $75,000. There are even sign-on bonuses offered. In addition to the pay, surrogates receive health insurance and life insurance.

Surrogates must be between 21 and 38 years old, have a healthy body weight, and have delivered a healthy child of their own, which they are raising, among other requirements.

7. Breast Milk

If you’ve recently given birth and have an overabundance of breast milk, you may be able to sell it. People have many reasons for buying breast milk. Most commonly, a parent may have trouble producing milk but may want their infant to gain the benefits of drinking breast milk rather than formula.

Breast milk can sell for between $3 and $5 per ounce. While selling breast milk is legal, sales are unregulated and the FDA recommends against buying or selling it on the private market.

8. Your Skin

You can make skin donations following surgery. But, in most cases, you won’t receive pay for this donation. An easier way to “donate” your skin is to rent it out to a company that wants to advertise on your face or body.

You can sell advertising space on your body in the form of temporary or permanent tattoos. Study Finds revealed that one man received $40,000 for putting a permanent tattoo on his forehead.

9. Your Car

There are a few different ways to rent your car for profit. You can become an Uber or Lyft driver and earn an average of $37,902 per year.

You can also sell advertising space on your vehicle. Stickr.co is one website that makes it easy to get paid cash plus gift cards just for sporting a decal on the rear window of your vehicle. The site indicates that you can earn as much as $2,300 annually in cash and gift cards, depending on the campaign.

10. Your Bike

If you own a bicycle, chances are it sits unused in your apartment or garage for at least a portion of every day. You can earn as much as $500 per month by renting your bike to other people in your area by using sites like Spinlister.

You can also rent your surfboard, snowboard or skis, according to the website.

11. Your Yard Space

If you have a nice backyard with plenty of space for pets to run, you can rent your yard as a dog park. You can earn up to $3,000 per month through the website SniffSpot.

12. Your Home

More than 150 million people use Airbnb to book vacation stays. That’s not counting people who use VRBO or other services to rent their houses to travelers.

The amount you can earn depends on where you live, the size of your house and your positive ratings as a host. Airbnb hosts in the U.S. earn an average of $44,235 per year, with hosts in Hawaii leading the list with average earnings of $73,247.

13. Your Talents

If you have specialized skills, such as writing, graphic design or teaching, you can make money from home by sharing your time and talents. You can look for freelance gigs at Fiverr or Upwork, or consider creating, marketing and selling an online course to share your talents with others and help them start a business of their own.

14. Photos

Do you enjoy taking photographs? You may be able to earn some extra cash by listing those pictures on sites such as Zenfolio or SmugMug.

According to Indeed, photographers earn an average salary of $43,329 per year, depending on their experience, region and the type of photography they do.

15. Your Opinion Through Surveys

If you want to earn extra cash in your spare time, you can do so by donating your opinions by taking surveys. Survey sites like Opinion Outpost pay as much as $25 per survey, as previously reported by GOBankingRates.

Final Take To GO

If you’re trying to pay down debt, save for retirement or simply improve your standard of living, consider one of the money-making ideas on the list above. With a little hustle and creativity, you can boost your income by hundreds per week.

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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