5 Tips on Charitable Giving in Uncertain Times

With the economy slowing the way it is, I’m sure one of the first things to get cut is charitable giving – it’s human nature to lower these so called ‘variable’ expenses.  I’ve taken a closer look at my budget, though, and have decided to give the same amount this year.  Here are 5 tips you might consider if you’re concerned about giving this year.

1.) Make it automatic – set up automatic contributions on your credit card or through your bank and pretty soon, you won’t even notice.  It’s kind of like paying yourself in reverse.

2.)  Check the financials – I don’t know about you, but I want to make sure my charity is using the money properly and is financially responsible.  With websites like Charity Navigator, you can choose a charity and evaluate it’s effectiveness by looking closely at its financial data.

3.) Choose a subject your passionate about – if you’re interested in sports, why not choose a charity that concentrates on something in sports – like a local baseball team, or something like that?  If you’re going to be donating your money, at least you’ll get something in return, beyond the satisfaction of helping people, of course!

4.) Donate your time – if you’re really broke, you why not donate your time?  Lots of charities need volunteers and are constantly short-staffed.  Check the website, Volunteer.ca for more information on volunteering.

5.) Fundraising – In a way you’re volunteering your time, but you’re also being an advocate for the charity of your choice.  If you find that you’re low on money, then simply go through your list of contacts and get them to donate their money or time.

I think we can all spare at least $10 per month.  If we look at what we spend, I’m sure we easily waste that amount on useless things – why not direct it towards charity?

Plus, charity has a tendency to come back to us in the form of feeling satisfied or better yet, good karma.  If you notice, I have placed this post under the category, ‘Wealth-building’ because giving should be part of a wealth-building strategy.

On a side note, the recent Madoff scandal may negatively affect philanthropy in the next few years.  Many wealthy people and foundations who invested with Mr. Madoff lost everything.  It looks like some of these charities lost millions.

With that in mind, it looks like it’s going to be up to us ‘poor folk’ to pick up the slack.

Photo credit: Mr. Kris

"The Strump Financial Blog - a (sometimes) irreverent and (hopefully) useful take on personal finance and investing. Personal finance is fun."

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