Hoo boy. Deciding which nonprofit to give to and how much and all of that is a topic of hot debate. But it’s an important one, especially right now as many nonprofits may be losing federal funding and our environment is up for the fight of its life.

So, how do you do it? Glad you asked…

Deciding Who You Give To

This is mostly where people get all uppity about giving.

Let me first and foremost state that OMG YES, your donation should absolutely be going to people’s salaries, and rent, and electricity, and paper and all that bullshit that for some reason people think shouldn’t cost anything because it’s a nonprofit. When you buy your expensive Mac computer, you do realize that a ton of that money is going to salaries and stuff and very little is going into your machine, right? I don’t hear you complaining then.

<rant>Listen, it takes good people, marketing budgets, etc. to make good things happen. And that all takes money. <marketing push>You can learn all about how to run a great nonprofit in my book – which you should totally buy for the nonprofit folks in your life – and let me tell you that part of the answer is putting money into things that aren’t just Programs.</marketing push> If you want to get all crabby about money going to overhead and admin, you’re basically saying you want the programs to be not all that great. And I know that’s not what you want. So stop being a pain in the ass.</rant>*

There are some nonprofits that mishandle their money. Try to avoid those. The best way to find out if a nonprofit is any good is by actually doing some work. Check out their website, read their 990s on Guidestar, and call them up. Talk to the people and see what they’re up to. Ask about their goals, their impact, and what their vision for the future is. Are they legitimately helping in a way you think is good?

That’s a little cart before the horse though. Start out by narrowing down the causes that are important to you, as well as what work you want to be done. For example, you may decide that the environment is important to you, but there are many different ways people are helping there, from simple clean up efforts to advocating for better policies in government.

Once you decide on the cause and work, you’ll need to find organizations that fit. I always suggest starting close to home. Partly because local organizations often need more help than big national ones, but also because you are likely to get more satisfaction from seeing results in your own community. Do some research (google, asking friends, checking Guidestar) on who is doing work that matters to you in your community. Want to make sure they are legit or that you will receive a tax deduction? Do a check here.

Deciding What to Give

The “what” is a journey through the three T’s – treasure, time, and talent. If you’re single, this is a little easier (Decisions, party of one!). If you have an SFO (Significant Financial Other) you’ll need to decide this together. If you have kids, please invite them to join you in the conversation. We need to build a culture of philanthropy and Lord knows nonprofits and foundations aren’t doing the job, so it’s up to parents.

Treasure: As for money donated, the amount isn’t really as important as the thought put into it. Nonprofits often ask for a “meaningful gift” or a “stretch gift.” For some people, $5 million is a meaningful gift. For me, it’s more like $500. For others, it may be $5 (ask your kids to give too!!!!).

Treasure can also mean donating items, from clothing to organs.** Don’t forget that you are rich in many ways!

Time: Ok so spending an hour on Thanksgiving to shovel food onto a plate isn’t particularly helpful. There’s a time and a place for all that, but nonprofits need help year round and usually with stuff like writing grants, making phone calls, database entry, etc. It’s not all fun, but it is actually helpful. Work with the nonprofit to create a volunteer situation that involves you actually doing good instead of just making yourself feel better.

Talent: Volunteering your time is also a good way to flex your muscles and/or learn new skills. For example, if you are an expert at feeding sloths, you can use that to help Sloth Feeders International***. If you have always wanted to learn how to feed sloths, you could volunteer to help an expert.

Deciding How You Give

Do you want to give once at the end of the year? Do you want to give a monthly recurring donation? Do you want to write a check each month or have it taken out of an account? Do you want to volunteer once a week or clean out your closet for Goodwill three times a year?

This might not seem like important questions, but they really can be. First, if you really want to help an organization, a recurring gift is often more helpful, because they can plan on it.

Second, it’s an important question if you have kids. I cannot underestimate the value of teaching your children philanthropy. Having money taken out of your account automatically is the easiest way for most people, but you lose a touch point for your kids. Think about the Sunday offering basket at church. Your kid gets to see you put money in each week. It may be helpful to have your kid help you write checks to charities each month. Clearly they can’t write the check, but they can seal the envelope or include a drawing with the check****.

You can also give without coughing up any money at all.

Planning for Maximum Giving

You are one person with a limited budget. But you know other people. Try to get them involved by thinking through the ask. For example, if you’re my friend and every month I get an ask from you for a different organization, I’m going to start ignoring you. But, if once a year you ask me several times to support your favorite organization, I’m more likely to listen. And remember that an ask doesn’t have to be for money – it can be for a vote, blood, volunteering time, or sometimes just for bodies to show up somewhere. Deciding which nonprofit to focus on and how to maximize your support is an especially good exercise with kids. They can do things like ask for donations instead of birthday presents or give a portion of their allowance.

If you’re fancy and have fancy friends, you can really do some good here by being strategic and asking for larger amounts. You should probably be on a board and have the nonprofit work through this process with you. If you don’t want to be on a board, work with the nonprofit on this process anyway.

Planning for the Unexpected

You could also call this planning for the expected, because you know some friend is going to ask you to support their marathon fetish to support fill-in-the-blank.

There are also unexpected things like a Trump Presidency. What do you do when you have all your money in arts and education and then suddenly women’s rights, LGBT rights, and environmental protection are on the chopping block? Do you stay the course? Do you readjust? Even if you don’t have a well-developed plan for this kind of thing, be prepared to revisit your giving strategy when big things come up.

Planning for the Future of Giving

I’d be not doing a very good job if my entire definition of “giving” revolved around writing checks to 501(c)(3)s. Giving is changing and you need to decide for yourself what your involvement in it will look like.

For example, do you consider investing in a for-profit company like Rayton Solar to be charitable money spent? What about buying a pair of TOMS shoes or a Tesla roof? What about donating to a political campaign, buying dinner for a homeless person, or entering a contest on Omaze? There are many ways to be charitable these days, and they don’t always involve nonprofits. Social enterprises, impact investing, crowdfunding…these things are changing the philanthropic landscape right now.

Think through what giving looks like for you and your family. While only time will tell what giving will look like in the future, I suggest having a “diverse portfolio” if you will. Find many different ways to use your resources for good.

Planning for Next Year

Revisit your plan each year. Reflect on what your giving accomplished both for you and the organization. Think through what you might want to do differently the next year, including how you can increase the money and time you spend giving to worthwhile causes.

*That’s a coding joke, for those of you that don’t know HTML.

**Don’t give your trash to charity. Do the work of actually separating gently-used items with the crap that no one wants.

***Not a real thing.

****I mean, how adorable would that be?

Join My Email List

Sign up to receive occasional emails from me. You'll get:

 

     - Musings on how to make the world a better place.

     - Invitations to join in on for-purpose related happenings.

     - Other fun stuff that I'll think up on a later date. 

 

You have Successfully Subscribed!