Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya menyumbang sedikit uang untuk penampungan hewan. - I donate a little money for the animal shelter.

meN- + verb often marks an active verb where the subject does the action.
It commonly takes an object, e.g. menyumbang uang (to donate money).

Related forms you might see:

sumbang (root; can appear in some contexts, but menyumbang is the normal verb)
sumbangan (noun: donation), e.g. Saya memberi sumbangan (I make a donation)

Is it okay to drop Saya? Do Indonesians often omit the subject?

Yes. Indonesian often omits the subject when it’s clear from context. You can say:

Menyumbang sedikit uang untuk penampungan hewan. This is common in conversation, diary-style writing, or when answering a question like Kamu ngapain? (What are you doing?).

Does this sentence show tense? How do I know if it’s past, present, or future?

Indonesian verbs don’t change form for tense. Saya menyumbang... can be understood as present or general/habitual depending on context. To specify time, you add time words:

Past: Saya sudah menyumbang sedikit uang... (already donated)
Future: Saya akan menyumbang sedikit uang... (will donate)
Habitual: Saya sering menyumbang sedikit uang... (often donate)

What’s the difference between sedikit uang and sejumlah uang or beberapa uang?

sedikit uang = a small amount of money (emphasizes “not much”)
sejumlah uang = a certain/some amount of money (more neutral, often slightly formal)
beberapa uang is generally not idiomatic, because beberapa is used more naturally with countable nouns (like beberapa buku). Money is typically treated as an amount, so sedikit, banyak, sejumlah, sekian are more natural.

Why is there no word like some or an article like a/the?

Indonesian doesn’t have articles like a/an/the. Indefiniteness is usually understood from context, or shown with words like:

sebuah/seorang/seekor (one + classifier, for countable things)
ini/itu (this/that)
quantity words like sedikit, banyak, sejumlah

So sedikit uang already covers the “some” idea.

Is untuk the best preposition here? Could I use kepada or ke instead?

untuk is natural here and commonly means for (purpose/benefit/recipient). You can also say:

Saya menyumbang sedikit uang kepada penampungan hewan.
kepada emphasizes the recipient (to), often used with giving/donating.
ke is more like “to/toward” a place (direction). You might hear it informally, but for donating, untuk/kepada is clearer and more standard.

What exactly does penampungan hewan mean? Is it the same as “animal shelter”?

Yes, penampungan hewan is a straightforward way to say animal shelter:

penampungan = a place for taking in/temporarily housing (from tampung, “to accommodate/contain”)
hewan = animals (more formal/neutral)

You may also see penampungan binatang in casual speech, but hewan is often preferred in formal contexts.

Is hewan more formal than binatang? Which one should I use?

Often:

hewan = more neutral/formal (common in news, documents, education)
binatang = common in everyday speech, but can sometimes feel a bit rough depending on context (and can be used as an insult about a person)

For an “animal shelter” context, penampungan hewan sounds safe and polite.

Can I say Saya memberikan sumbangan... instead of Saya menyumbang...? What’s the difference?

Yes, both work:

Saya menyumbang sedikit uang... = direct, common, active verb
Saya memberikan sumbangan (uang)... = slightly more formal/explicit; focuses on the donation as a thing

You can also say:

Saya berdonasi sedikit uang... (loanword; common in modern Indonesian, especially online)

Is the word order fixed? Could sedikit move elsewhere?

The normal order is sedikit + noun:

sedikit uang (a little money)

You can also restructure for emphasis, but it becomes more “sentence-like”:

Saya menyumbang uang sedikit... can sound awkward or informal and is less common. If you want emphasis, better options are:
Saya hanya menyumbang sedikit uang... (I only donated a little money)
Saya menyumbang uang dalam jumlah sedikit... (in a small amount; more formal)

How would this change in passive voice?

A natural passive version is:

Sedikit uang disumbangkan untuk penampungan hewan. (A small amount of money was donated for an animal shelter.) Or if you want to include the doer:
Sedikit uang disumbangkan oleh saya untuk penampungan hewan. (…by me)

Passive is used a lot in Indonesian when the focus is on the object/result rather than the person.

How do you pronounce menyumbang and why is it spelled meny-?

menyumbang is roughly /mə-NYUM-bang/:

meny- is pronounced like ny in canyon.
The spelling meny- comes from the meN- prefix changing form to match the first sound of the root. For roots starting with s, meN- typically becomes meny- and the s drops:
meN- + sumbang → menyumbang.