Alternative giving is a form of gift giving in which the giver makes a donation to a charitable organization on the gift recipient’s behalf, rather than giving them an item. The idea of giving something to one person by paying another was applied by Benjamin Franklin as a "trick [...] for doing a deal of good with a little money", which came to be known as "pay it forward." This form of giving is often used as an alternative to consumerism and to mitigate the impact of gift-giving on the environment.