Put down that tie. Don't buy mom another cookbook. There are plenty of innovative ideas for holiday gifts that won't add to clutter or gather dust, and will help an organization or a person in need.

• Many area libraries, food banks and charitable organizations will send a gift card to the recipient, notifying them of a donation made in their name. Some libraries offer book plating as a gift. To memorialize or honor a special person, a plate is put in the front of a library book, often a book of choice, and a card acknowledging the gift is sent to the recipient.
  
  "Plating is a perfect gift," said Heidi Aigler, administration services manager at the East Brunswick Public Library. "You make a donation, but you're getting something tangible. And you can pick the subject. If the person likes dogs, you can pick a book about dogs. It's becoming very popular."
  
  For a $20 donation, the library will have the person's name printed on cardstock paper and glued inside the front cover of the book. A book endowment, which costs $200, provides a book for the library in perpetuity in that person's name.
  
  "It's a nice memento," said Aigler.
• The Franklin Township Food Bank accepts donations as holiday gifts too. The organization will send a postcard to the recipient, notifying them of that a donation was made in their honor.
  
  "I think it's a great idea," said executive director Frank Hasner. "You give toys to kids and many times they'll only play with it for a few hours. This way, your money can go much further. And it always feels good to help somebody out."
  
  
• Many international organizations offer interesting alternatives in gift-giving. The mission of Kiva is to connect people through lending in an attempt to alleviate poverty. The organization bills itself as the world's first person-to-person micro-lending Web site, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. When a loan is made, a real person is able to make strides toward economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family and their community. Throughout the course of the loan, which is usually for six to 12 months, the donor can receive e-mail journal updates and track repayments. Then, when the donor gets the loan money back, they can re-lend to someone else in need.
• Heifer International provides training and animal gifts that help people in underdeveloped countries become self-reliant. For $150, a llama can be given to a family in the mountainous areas of Latin America. Llamas can eat the scrub vegetation that other domesticated animals won't eat. Their droppings also help fertilize the topsoil, improving crops and reducing erosion. The women can weave the llama's fleece into warm clothing to wear or sell, and the animals also serve as a source of transportation.
  
  Gifts are available in all denominations. For $500, a heifer can be provided to a struggling family and that gift will multiply as the animal produces offspring. Eventually, an entire community may move from poverty to self-reliance based on that one gift.
  
  For a smaller amount, such as $20, a flock of geese makes a great gift. Some geese can lay up to 75 eggs a year, greatly helping families in need of protein as well as a means of income.
• Habitat for Humanity also provides gift cards. At that organization, $10 will pay for a box of nails in the building of a new home for a needy family; $35 will buy roof shingles, and $150 will buy a door.
• And at www.justgive.org, charity gift cards are available for thousands of nonprofit organizations.

Donations to local organizations helped by the Home News Tribune's annual Needy Cases Fund may be sent to: Needy Cases Fund, c/o the Home News Tribune, 35 Kennedy Blvd., East Brunswick, NJ 08816 or by visiting www.MyCentralJersey.com.

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