Feeling philanthropic? You’re not alone. Between the holiday season and the last chance to make charitable donations before the year’s end, the month of December tends to be a popular time for giving. In fact, Eileen Heisman, CEO of National Philanthropic Trust, says her organization receives 50 percent of its donations during the last five weeks of the year. And as an ambassador for Giving Tuesday, she actively encourages the spirit of generosity in others, speaking on behalf of the global movement that encourages people to donate rather than buy on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving—after most people have spent the weekend taking advantage of Black Friday deals. “It’s a day you can stop all the consumption and think about giving and volunteering,” she says of Giving Tuesday.
That sounds easy enough. But whether you’re participating in charity on Giving Tuesday or any other day leading up to the end of December, it’s sometimes overwhelming trying to find the right cause to advocate or the right organization to donate to. And despite best intentions, some people go about giving in a way that isn’t as efficient or advantageous as it could be.
So, what should people think about when they’re opening their wallets for charity this holiday season? If you take a few minutes to properly plan your giving, then you can have confidence your dollars are making a big difference!
Choose your charity (or charities) with care.
You could choose one charity you want to go all-in on or you might choose several charities that you want to support to a lesser degree. If you don’t have a favorite charity or nonprofit, think about your interests and priorities—do you care about the environment? Education? The arts? Health care?
While there’s nothing wrong with donating to a large national organization, you might find it more rewarding to give local. Smaller charities tend to have less opportunities to be beneficiaries of big donations, plus you are more likely to see the direct results of your giving benefiting your own community.
Heisman recommends spending the same amount of time vetting a charity before giving as you would a restaurant before dining—just 15 minutes of research and consideration will give you enough time to look at the organization’s mission, ask others about their experience with the charity, and read testimonials.
On that same note, you can help others in their decision by providing testimonials to the nonprofit organizations that you have strong feelings about. Send an email to the board or find their page on Google Plus to write a few sentences about why it’s a great organization.
And if you do decide to go with a national or global charity, it never hurts to check out its evaluation at Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org) or Giving What We Can (givingwhatwecan.org), which look at concrete metrics behind what nonprofits are accomplishing with their efforts.
Decide what you’re donating.
Are you giving money or are you giving actual material items? Heisman notes that most nonprofit organizations are always in need of finances—and every dollar counts. “Once you’ve figured out who you want to give to, the next thing is do you give $100 or $500 or $1,000? Only you know what your budget is,” she explains. “I always suggest people give larger amounts to fewer organizations.”
This perspective of giving more to fewer organizations is shared by the American College of Financial Services, which explains that donations are often subject to “transactional fees.” So your entire donation isn’t necessarily going to support the organization’s mission. Giving a small donation to many different organizations means you are increasing the overhead of your charity efforts.
Take note that it’s helpful if you make commitments of an annual donation every holiday season. When nonprofits know they have a certain amount coming in from reliable donors, they can spend less time fundraising throughout the year and focus more of their efforts on their mission.
However, your donation doesn’t have to be money. If you prefer, you can donate items the nonprofit needs. For example, an animal shelter may need donations of kibble, or a children’s education center might need books and craft supplies.
Heisman encourages people to check whether an organization has a wish list or registry with a platform like Amazon. This will ensure that you’re getting something the organization truly needs. Donating unsolicited items could end up being a detriment to the organization, which has to give up storage space to hold onto these unneeded items.
Don’t forget that volunteering counts as philanthropy too.
Not everyone can afford to give money or buy items for charity this winter, but they might have a few extra hours during the weekend or on a weeknight when they can step up and offer some free labor to their favorite organization. Heisman recommends going to volunteermatch.org, where you can enter your zip code and topic of interest to be paired with charities near you that have a need for volunteers. This quick method saves you time that you might spend calling or Googling to see whether these organizations have a need for you.
Share the generous spirit on social media.
It might feel a little cheesy at first, but posting to social media about your experience with giving or volunteering could be the most important thing you put on the Internet over the holiday season. That’s because you could influence others around you to go out and find a charity that they want to support. “People like to see leaders,” Heisman explains. “By putting it on social media, you’re encouraging other people to give.” Ideally, post up to three times about your philanthropy, emphasizing a different aspect of why you chose this organization and what other needs they have.
Don’t forget to tag the organization in your post so your followers have a direct link they can check out, and use appropriate hashtags to expand your reach—#GivingTuesday is a big one on (you guess it) Giving Tuesday.
Remember to keep up the giving all year round if you can
So many people feel compelled to be charitable around the holidays, but the need is constant.
Some organizations (such as food pantries) have increased demand at other times of year (in this case, during the summertime, when kids are home from school but donations are at a low). Don’t be afraid to ask your chosen charity about what times of year could be most beneficial for donations; then commit to giving to them again when that month rolls around.
“We can give all year round,” Heisman reminds us. “You don’t have to wait until the end of the year.”
