Kaparot is a universally accepted custom.
The custom is that before Yom Kippur a live rooster is taken and swung three times around your head while reciting a special prayer that one's sins be "transferred" to the rooster. The rooster is ritually slaughtered and the rooster is then given to the poor.
Many people feel very uncomfortable using a live rooster and they prefer to use money instead. One should take the worth of a rooster and swing it around one's head reciting the same prayer. The money should then be given to charity.
