Have children try these ideas from past Pennies for the Planet participants:

• Set a goal for how much you want to collect as a family or group, then challenge your children to be creative in meeting that goal
• Make crafts such as clay pots, birdseed feeders, or jewelry to sell
• Establish a change bucket where family or group members can stash extra change
• Recycle bottles and donate the resulting change to Pennies for the Planet
• Ask children to empty their piggybanks or donate a few weeks' allowance for the cause

Walk or pedal to school: Have your kids walk or ride bikes to school instead of driving them. Donate the money for the gas saved.

The corner store: Check with local businesses you patronize—Internet cafes, donut shops, delicatessens, dry cleaners—to ask whether they would put a collection jar near a cash register or other public area. Download a ready-to-use collection jar label from the Downloads page on this website or make your own.

Make money with movies: Host a "Movie Night" fund-raising party and ask guests to bring their spare change. Put out one or more Pennies for the Planet collection jars. Hand out a list of key words that you know occur frequently in the movie. Every time the guests hear that word, each person should add a coin to a collection jar. (Have a backup bowl of change on hand in case the guests run out of coins.) Print out and color in a collection jar label from the Downloads page on this website or make your own.

Bric-a-brac and brownies: Host a yard sale or bake sale and donate some or all of the proceeds to Pennies for the Planet. To earn a little extra, put out a collection jar at the sale. (Print out and color in a collection jar label from the Downloads page on this website or make your own.)

Critter companions: In exchange for an agreed-upon rate, have your kids offer their services as neighborhood pet buddies. For example, they could walk dogs that have been cooped up all day for pet owners who work late. Or they could pet and play with lonely cats whose human companions are out of town. The kids could contribute part or all of the proceeds to Pennies for the Planet.

Serving the community: Have your kids get sponsorship for nature- or animal-oriented community service, with proceeds going to Pennies for the Planet. This could be an individual or group activity. The kids could receive an agreed-upon rate for each hour of completed service, then set a goal of completing anywhere from 10 to 20 hours. Possible projects include community cleanups, playing with animals in a local shelter, or joining an invasive plant–removal program at a local park or nature center.

School, club, or other group: Encourage children's teachers or school administrators or any club or other group your family is involved with to participate in Pennies for the Planet. Go to the For Educators & Group Leaders page for details.

Have children try these ideas from past Pennies for the Planet participants:

• Set a goal for how much you want to collect as a group, then ask participants to come up with creative ways to reach that goal
• Hand out small baggies to participants, and ask them to bring them back filled with change
• Hold a penny drive and offer small prizes for the biggest giver
• Put out a change bucket in your classroom or at your next event
• Ask participants to empty their piggybanks for the cause

Hold a bake sale: Set up a bake sale featuring items that draw attention to the projects of this year's campaign. For example, suggest participants make cookies shaped as polar bears, macaroons shaped like hummingbird eggs, and much more. Create informational tags about the animal or habitat represented by each item. You might add: “Your pennies will go toward protecting these and other wild creatures and their habitats around the planet. Thank you!”

Plant, weed, and clean up: Contact a local park or community group about organizing a field trip for your participants to plant, weed, or clean up a natural area. Announce the event to the press, distribute flyers, and make posters to advertise the day and place. Set up a table to collect donations on the day of the event.

Get support from local businesses: Ask them for permission to place Pennies for the Planet collection jars at the checkout or set up a table outside the store. Ask businesses to match Pennies for the Planet donations, dollar for dollar or a percentage of the amount collected. Make sure to acknowledge participating businesses.

Photo credits: Photo Credits: Top navigation, from l to r: Graeme Purdy/iStock; Walker Golder/Audubon North Carolina; Susanne Miller/USFWS. Left column navigation: Moshi Mochi/CanStock. All other images: TogetherGreen.