How do you guys handle charity?

[Nederstash]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering how you guys handle charity? I'm looking for ideas, because I'm not sure how I want to handle this topic.

Here in the Netherlands (most) everyone will receive 190 euro in November and 190 euro in December to compensate for the high energy prices. I don't need this money, but I will receive it anyway. I've considered buying gifts for my niece and nephew, but I don't want them to see me as a 'sugar auntie' and only like me for my gifts. Also I prefer giving to environmental and animal causes over human causes. I don't know how much of my savings I would want to allocate to charity, or if I should keep it random.

Do you guys give a set amount per month/year, or is it more spontaneous? How did you decide on the charities you support?

[Omy]

We give a set amount each year to our favorite charities and give spontaneously when we see a need that we can fill.

Since we don't have kids to pass our money to, I expect we will give significantly more to charities as we age. At some point we will set up a DAF or similar so we can donate much larger sums in a tax advantaged manner.

[uniwelder]

I think OP's question depends on where you are in life--- still working/saving, slim FIREd, fat FIREd.  We're on the edge of retiring, with my wife still working another year or so, and myself mostly non-working.

Our plan is to donate all of it to charity when we pass away since we don't have kids.  In the meantime, I'd rather donate my time rather than money, such as giving blood platelets regularly, maintaining hiking trails and other conservation efforts in my area, helping friends with projects, and whatever else comes up as more time is available.  As we get older, we would donate money if our invested savings grows to a point that we're confident it won't be spent down before we pass away.  For now, I prefer having that cash on hand.

edited to add--- OP, regarding your question about what to do with your own money, it sounds like you're well set financially.  From the statement you made--- "I've considered buying gifts for my niece and nephew, but I don't want them to see me as a 'sugar auntie' and only like me for my gifts. Also I prefer giving to environmental and animal causes over human causes.", it sounds like you answered your own question.

Edited again— OP, I read some of your postings and it looks like you’re still in the working/saving phase. I would just keep the money. When you’re Financially Independent, then work for a charity group

[Nederstash]

Thanks for the replies! I am currently still working and saving. I was just wondering if people made donations a part of their monthly budget, like maybe 50 a month or maybe a set percentage. I know some Christians tithe a certain amount each month.

I guess it depends on personal preference more than anything. I think I'd like to give a small amount each month, now to decide on which charities..

[Le Poisson]

The best take I've seen on this topic was in @Sailor Sam's journal.

We tend to give locally to organizations that are having the greatest impact in our community without being bogged down by infrastructure and bureaucratic burdens. We want our giving to reach the intended target quickly and as whole as possible.

I also understand (from my involvement in various community groups) that donors love to give to projects that are tangible... but leave a charity with an asset to maintain. For instance, the number of marching bands with a base drum that says "Instruments donated By..." across the middle of it. Big, showy, tangible and advertises the donor. Those same bands however cannot afford transportation to the next parade, the parade entry fees, or insurance to run for the next year. We try to give to operating budgets whenever given a choice, because as nice as it is to have your name across the front of a chest freezer at the foodbank, the electricity to run it is just as important.

[Sailor Sam]

Thanks for the bat signal, @Le Poisson.

I was wondering how you guys handle charity? I'm looking for ideas, because I'm not sure how I want to handle this topic.

I had a whole personal journey on how to handle charity, back when first found the MMM blog and forum. My own personal belief is that my moral life* includes charity, but in 2015 I couldn't donate 10% and also have a 50% savings rate. Not being able to meet both goals made me really unhappy. Reducing donations below 10% violated my moral code, but not being able to save 50% made my competitive side so angry and frustrated. I felt I couldn't win, no matter which I picked.

The solution, which took about a year of real pain and unhappiness, eventually ended up being super easy. I changed my spreadsheet so that any income given as charity wasn't included in the savings calculation. It took 2 minutes to implement, and allowed me to meet both my moral obligations, and my savings goals.

The bad news is that you're going to have to be the one who figures out how to resolve the how-when-who of charity. The MMM community can give you anecdotes, but the final decision will have to be yours. Maybe start with a few dollars a month, or with one charity. See how it feels. Then either expand, contract, or stay with the status quo. Wait a few months, and fiddle again. Spend a lot of time thinking.  What I personally came up with is donating to my college (because they gave me a shittonne of money in scholarships), St Jude's (everyone hates childhood cancer), my local SPCA (because I love animals), and the Fistula Foundation (international org that repairs fistulas from giving birth).  I'd love to hear what you come up with!  Charity sometimes comes up on the MMM board (you can try searching site:https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ charity if you want to read older threads), and it's always an interesting conversation.


* I honestly and truly DNGAF what anyone else does. It's very freeing. I recommend everyone try it.

[kanga1622]

We do not have a set amount for charity and probably never will. I am much more the type to donate to a specific cause, drive, organization as a need comes forth. We love to take our kids shopping for those that are financially struggling at Christmas time so they can experience the joy of giving and not be focused solely on themselves. We donate clothes, DVDs, and toys as things are outgrown by our kids, we donate books to the library fundraising efforts, and we will donate when people in the community have a housefire and need immediate support. I prefer to be able to attach my donation to a specific person/family rather than a larger organization. My only exceptions to that are public libraries, parent/teacher associations, and food pantries because those organizations are accessed and needed by so many in the community.

My family is really working at FI and will probably not RE because I am too risk averse and we have a relatively small income for this board as well as the US. But I do vote to increase my taxes in the greater good of my community! :)

[Holocene]

Most years while working I donated $2-3k a year, which wasn't a huge chunk of my income but was generally at least 10% of my expenses, so felt quite large.  I'm thankful for what I have and giving back has always felt good for me.  I'd usually just do a large gift to 2-3 organizations once a year.  I stopped donating to the ones that hounded me incessantly after giving once.  I figured I'd rather donate to orgs that use all the money to help people rather than trying to get more money out of donors.  Unfortunately it's hard to know up front and I get quite a bit of charity junk mail still.  My favorites are Direct Relief and Against Malaria Foundation.  I found these by doing research on places like Charity Navigator and Give Well.

Last year I opened a DAF at Fidelity and put in a good chunk of money (appreciated shares).  I was planning to FIRE this year so thought I'd front-load some donations while I still had income (and larger donations make more sense now with the higher standard deduction in the US).  I've already failed at FIRE and am working part-time now, so I should have more money to give away.  I just transferred some more shares over to the DAF today.  I didn't really have a plan to keep giving in retirement.  I figured I'd give if I had extra, but I'd make sure I could cover my needs first.  I don't have any kids so charities will get a lot of my money when I die anyway.

Personally, I value giving to charity over most luxuries I could buy with that money.  So while I don't have a line item in my budget for charity, I figure I'll keep donating naturally when I have excess funds since it makes me feel good.

[Siebrie]

I give 5% to the church I belong to, and used to give 5% to several other charities (Red Cross, street newspaper sellers (people from a difficult background trying to get back on their feet), anyone who came by the door). That changed when I met my African husband.
I still give 5% to the church I belong to, but now we support his family with the other ca. 5%. Because we support them regularly and label it as 'family support' when we send the money through the bank, we can put it in our tax documents. (Any donations to a registered charity can be added to the tax filing in the Netherlands. In Belgium the donation needs to be at least €40.)
I regularly give my time to charity: I'm a sunday school teacher and a teenager group leader, I do the dishes on the church's and primary school's spaghetti nights, I cycle with the primary school children when they need a chaperone to an event around our village, I help set up tables and chairs, etc. Just don't ask me to be on the Board.

[Metalcat]

I personally don't donate any money because my skills are worth orders of magnitude more than the money I can afford to give. I have access to very deep pockets, so can direct massive value towards whatever charity I'm interested in. Plus I've worked for a number of non-profits and would rather direct how money is being spent than just trusting that it will be spent well.

My point is, this is entirely personal and just comes down to what feels right to you.

For me, the key is to know what I want my efforts to produce. What change am I looking to make in the world and how best can I leverage my efforts to help?

I'm more in the "help one person at a time" camp, and DH is in the "focus on systemic change" camp, which is reflected in everything we do for-profit, non-profit, and even socially.

So spend some time figuring out who you are and what kind of good you want to contribute to the world and then make a plan from there. Once you know what you want to contribute towards and who the players are doing the work that matters to you, it becomes pretty self-evident how to support those causes.

Or you can just pick a number you're comfortable with and donate however feels good to you. Really, whatever makes sense to you. It really is entirely personal.

[uniwelder]

I was just listening to a podcast with MMM featured on Mad Fientist.  Here's a link if interested in hearing the whole thing--- https://www.madfientist.com/mr-money-mustache-highlights/?ck_subscriber_id=216349120&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The+Best+Advice+from+Mr.+Money+Mustache%20-%208281473 The topic of charities came up (around 10:45) and here was his response---

"I was always kind of cautious in giving in my younger years because of my upbringing.  Family, save your money, protect yourself, put up walls so you could never possibly run out of money.  It was fun and somewhat rewarding, but when I got to the ridiculous surplus point shortly after that, then I realized the only logical choice is to devote your time helping other people because you don't need to help yourself anymore.  And then I realized that is actually a much more fun way to devote your time in a way..." and then continues on.

[kite]

I give to local causes where I’m also willing to give my time. Many are faith-based and address the needs of the poorest within my own community.  My church community provides meals on weekends when government run meal programs are closed. We serve breakfast & lunch on-site and provide meals-to-go for the next day.  It takes money + plenty of human effort as there are no paid staff. All welcome, no questions asked and no expectations upon our guests to participate in any worship, etc.   I’m a board member of another, similar faith-based group with a similar mission to serve those in need with direct financial assistance. I like seeing (and influencing) where the money goes, to insure the mission and objectives of the organization are upheld.

I used to support a performing arts based non-profit, where again, I gave time.

What I’m turned off of entirely is go-fund-me style causes, no matter how worthy sounding.  I contributed to one where I knew the people and there was genuine need: young mother w/metastatic cancer who is the daughter-in-law of a friend. My friend’s son took the $25,000 that people contributed and bought AR-15’s.
We were told we were contributing to her care and that of her children and the on-going expenses this young family would face. He bought guns.  And that just re-affirms my commitment to remaining involved with any cause where you direct your own money. Join boards, read charity rating reports or volunteer your time in addition to your money.,     

[iris lily]

We do not give 10% of our income and it pisses me off when I think about it because we so easily .cOULD do it. Any check I write above $100 is a wrangle with DH.

Right now I am figuring out if I can put a bunch of money, house of money, into a donor directed fond of the idea that we give away $10,000 a year. Once we’ve decided that I’m out for the next 10 years that I don’t have to wrangle about it. But this is a work in progress.

So of course I can always do that with my own money, and my IRA is pretty hefty, so maybe I’ll come to the realization that’s what I have to do.

[LostGirl]

My position on this has shifted as I've gotten older and had more income. Note that since my divorce and split I'm no longer on a FIRE journey but want to live a fulfilled life.  I donate as much as I can. I have a rough idea of amount at the beginning of the year and a few regular contributions and I also give heavily to progressive candidates in election years. 

I have my preferred charities and projects and I donate when I can.  I give about 25% of my income currently. I would be FI if I didn't live in the Bay Area. 

I also volunteer but since my time is so valuable, its a better tradeoff for me to work and donate. 

[brooklynmoney]

I too have a DAF at Fidelity. I give monthly to several charities from that and a few times a year move a decent chunk of change into the DAF. I also give directly to people through GoFundMes etc and donate to political campaigns.

[sui generis]

It's always been part of my moral code to give of my time and treasure.  The Life You Can Save might be a helpful book for you to read on this topic if you want to wrestle with the philosophy and morals that may help guide you to your personal best judgment on how to approach this.  https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/  I believe they offer a free download of the book on the website as well as some great recommendations of charities. 

I gave to charity throughout my earning years, and it certainly increased when I was making a lot of money, even as I was saving for early retirement.  Excellent encapsulation of the struggle by Sailor Sam above. 

Now that I've FIREd, I give 15% of my budgeted expenses, so it is my second largest category of expenses, and that feels right to me.  I sometimes still feel guilty about not giving more (if you read the book, you'll see the rabbit holes you can go down), but there has to be a balance.  I also anticipate leaving a lot to charity when I die.  Giving it away sooner rather than later would be better, but again - balance! 

I have a little less than 2/3 of that monthly/annual funding pre-programmed in monthly donations.  To be effective, charities need to have some financial stability and security and having monthly donors of slightly smaller amounts is often worth more in capacity-building terms than individual larger gifts, so I suggest considering doing that for some of your charitable giving.  I have a couple of orgs that I've been donating to for like 15 years now, and it feels great to have this long-term relationship with them.

It's wonderful that you are being so thoughtful about this topic!  I hope you will feel confident and happy with difference you choose to make in the world!

[reeshau]

We have a base amount that we give, that is consistent-to-growing each year.  We may also give more in a given year with large positive surprises for us.

We have a number of researched charities that we give to.  How much we give to each varies somewhat, because we include DS in our giving.  We make it part of our Thanksgiving festivities.  (Next Thursday, in the US)  We have a 3-part bank for him: spend, save, and share.  He gets to use his Share savings in our "giving game" each year.  We place dollar bills on a game board, that is just a grid of the charities.  When we place the dollars, we either talk about why we are supporting them, or just something we are thankful for.  He knows we match his donations, but the reality is that each $1 is really $100 donated.

Since we paid off the house, we use the standard tax deduction, so there isn't really any tax driver each year.  We have talked about a DAF, but won't likely do it this year.

Having said this, we did go out of process this year, and made large donations to World Central Kitchen and Care.org at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  They both are part of the regular game, too, so will likely get more now,

I worked for a global megacorp, and we are well-travelled globally, so my giving tends to range quite far.  My wife is hyper-local; she wants to know the people she is supporting, and even better if we are volunteering there, too.  We also are strong believers in education, and support the nonprofit schools we have attended, from my son's elementary school in Dublin to our Universities.

[HPstache]

10% off the net income every month to our local church.  I'd feel like I had not accomplished anything if I made it to FIRE without giving to charity along the way.

[AMandM]

We have an amount set aside in the monthly budget for charity. We are still in the accumulation phase, and donations will always be part of our planned spending.

Some is earmarked for specific causes and some is available for causes/requests that come up throughout the year. Unlike other budget categories, at the end of the year we require ourselves to "spend" whatever is left in that pot.  For the most part, it goes to organizations we are directly involved with, or friends we trust work with, so we know the money is being well spent. We try to cover a range of charities, physical and social/educational, immediate and long-term, near and far, etc.

[LaineyAZ]

....

I also understand (from my involvement in various community groups) that donors love to give to projects that are tangible... but leave a charity with an asset to maintain. For instance, the number of marching bands with a base drum that says "Instruments donated By..." across the middle of it. Big, showy, tangible and advertises the donor. Those same bands however cannot afford transportation to the next parade, the parade entry fees, or insurance to run for the next year. We try to give to operating budgets whenever given a choice, because as nice as it is to have your name across the front of a chest freezer at the foodbank, the electricity to run it is just as important.

I am so glad to see this point about admin costs.  When I was working at MegaCorp I was in charge of the committee who ran the United Way campaign.  If I had a dollar for every donor who insisted that their donation monies should only go to programs and none to "overhead" then I'd be rich. 
I had to explain over and over that the only way for there to be zero admin costs was if you were to directly hand cash to a needy person.  They couldn't accept that every organization is also paying for utilities, staff salaries, some minimal additional fundraising costs, a building mortgage or rent, etc. 

Another reason that I wish everyone would participate in a behind-the-scenes work at a nonprofit so they can see how things get accomplished in the real world.

[LostGirl]

10% off the net income every month to our local church.  I'd feel like I had not accomplished anything if I made it to FIRE without giving to charity along the way.

Some would argue that your local church isn't charity.

[jinga nation]

we have a fixed budget annually, that we give during the year especially when the charity can get matching funds. preference is to local community groups (not religious-based), and to environmental and education causes.

I pick charities from the lists at:
https://www.givewell.org/charities/top-charities
(they are open about their mistakes: https://www.givewell.org/about/our-mistakes)
https://www.charitywatch.org/top-rated-charities

[HPstache]

10% off the net income every month to our local church.  I'd feel like I had not accomplished anything if I made it to FIRE without giving to charity along the way.

Some would argue that your local church isn't charity.

Whatever you want to call it, I'm cool with that.

[curious_george]

I mostly donate to funding scientific research (surprise surprise), to a local church, and to some specific people in need. I mostly target support to people who support others or who temporarily fell on hard times.

I volunteer time doing river and highway cleanups, and at a local shelter for women who are victims of domestic abuse.

This seems like such a personal thing - I would donate to causes that you care about.

I care about curing cancer, because one of my foster moms died from cancer. I care about helping abused women, because I was abused as a child and various women in my life have offered the most emotional healing. I care about the environment because I don't like seeing trash everywhere. I care about curing mental illness because my biological family is all prone to mental illness and I have watched too many people slowly lose their minds.

Donate to whatever you care about the most.

[Le Poisson]

10% off the net income every month to our local church.  I'd feel like I had not accomplished anything if I made it to FIRE without giving to charity along the way.

Some would argue that your local church isn't charity.

Whatever you want to call it, I'm cool with that.

It does raise the question though, is a tithe obligated giving? Is it fees for membership in your faith? And if it is obligated giving (for instance, in the Mormon church, where your priviledges are very limited if you fall behind) is it really any more charitable than the fees you pay to be in any other society?

[chasingsnow]

Right now we are in the early stages so I volunteer on building local trails, am on volunteer ski patrol and then we donate a portion of our tax return every year to local charities.

[Metalcat]

Right now we are in the early stages so I volunteer on building local trails, am on volunteer ski patrol and then we donate a portion of our tax return every year to local charities.

Volunteering isn't just an early days thing though, it all depends on your skills.

For example, if you end up doing the construction thing, your donated time will always be worth more than your earned money in construction because you won't be paying tax on that time.

[jeninco]

Right now we are in the early stages so I volunteer on building local trails, am on volunteer ski patrol and then we donate a portion of our tax return every year to local charities.

Volunteering isn't just an early days thing though, it all depends on your skills.

For example, if you end up doing the construction thing, your donated time will always be worth more than your earned money in construction because you won't be paying tax on that time.

I've been volunteering with my ski patrol for over 20 years now, and it's definitely worth more to them then $. And to the Forest Service (we do a bunch of backcountry patrols), and to the organizations for whom we provide race support (summer and winter activities).

To answer the main question, we're trying to ooze up towards 5% annual giving. We support a variety of local, national, and international groups, with an emphasis towards women's empowerment and education (although we support some straight environmental and other causes, too).

[Archipelago]

I support Against Malaria Foundation ($150/month) and Doctors Without Borders ($100/month). I own a business and contribute to them as business advertising expenses rather than personal deductions to yield a greater benefit from taxes.

Also set up a portion of my business sales to automatically contribute 10% of proceeds to AMF. This has amounted to about $700 YTD.

I'll give Wikipedia $25 once or twice a year because I get so much value out of Wikipedia.

I got interested in women's birth control and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa based on the work out of the Copenhagen Consensus. Lots of papers and research available to dig into. For example, the estimated return on every dollar spent towards halving malaria infections is $39. And for birth control, $45 or more for social welfare per dollar spent. That's a massive ROI, so that's where I put most of my charity money. From there, I used Charity Navigator and a few other web sources to research charities that are effective with their giving. AMF and DWB are both fantastic charities for these 2 causes I'm interested in, so they'll continue to have my support.

Over my lifetime and when I pass away, I have a goal of donating a cumulative $1MM. I don't discuss this with anyone except my wife, but since this is an anonymous forum, it's a good place to talk about finances and share these goals with like-minded people.

[reeshau]

That's a massive ROI, so that's where I put most of my charity money.

I applaud you for giving with intention.  But I have to say, I think ROI and other business methods are the wrong tool for the job.  I encourage you to read Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas.

[uniwelder]

That's a massive ROI, so that's where I put most of my charity money.

I applaud you for giving with intention.  But I have to say, I think ROI and other business methods are the wrong tool for the job.  I encourage you to read Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas.

I looked up the book and read a few brief reviews and summaries, but they don't allude to critique of what you're commenting.  From what I see, the book mostly criticizes wealthy donors for not trying to make laws (income tax, monopolies, technology) more equitable, thus making the world increasingly economically divided.  Can you clue us in?

[reeshau]

That's a massive ROI, so that's where I put most of my charity money.

I applaud you for giving with intention.  But I have to say, I think ROI and other business methods are the wrong tool for the job.  I encourage you to read Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas.

I looked up the book and read a few brief reviews and summaries, but they don't allude to critique of what you're commenting.  From what I see, the book mostly criticizes wealthy donors for not trying to make laws (income tax, monopolies, technology) more equitable, thus making the world increasingly economically divided.  Can you clue us in?

The author spends a lot of time discussing with people who engage with big donors, and the way they have to put their message in business / ROI / consultant-speak in order to have their message received.  This includes reflecting on his own participation in this system.  He talks about what this change does to the message itself, and how key messages are lost because of this assumed context.  Also, he talks about worthy ideas that are shut out, because their champions refuse to dance to that tune.

[jinga nation]

I support Against Malaria Foundation ($150/month) and Doctors Without Borders ($100/month). I own a business and contribute to them as business advertising expenses rather than personal deductions to yield a greater benefit from taxes.

As someone from sub-Saharan Africa, thank you!

How do you account for them as business expenses instead of charity? asking so that i can request my small biz employer to match my donation and get a deduction.

[Scandium]

I automatically give a fixed amount every month to the Givewell donar fund.
https://www.givewell.org/
(Currently $100/month I think, but was lowered when I lost my job recently, need to increase again now)

My philosophy; I don't give to "western" charities since the "ROI" is pretty low. As bad as the poorest have it in the west, so many people in sub-Saharan Afrika for example have it so much worse. It just makes so much more sense to give what I can there. It's like any purchase; I try to maximize the value per dollar. In this case "reduction in human suffering", and I don't care whether that human live down the street from me or across the world.

[Archipelago]

I support Against Malaria Foundation ($150/month) and Doctors Without Borders ($100/month). I own a business and contribute to them as business advertising expenses rather than personal deductions to yield a greater benefit from taxes.

As someone from sub-Saharan Africa, thank you!

How do you account for them as business expenses instead of charity? asking so that i can request my small biz employer to match my donation and get a deduction.

We categorize them as advertising expenses and have our business name on donor lists. To be honest, it doesn't help our business with advertising - it's one of those things that's 'good enough' to make an argument to the IRS that it's an advertising expense. I'm OK with doing this somewhat under the radar because it's only about $4000 annually at the moment, but I wouldn't expect other businesses to be comfortable doing this with significant sums of money. Does that make any sense?

[couponvan]

I had three kids in college this year, so monetary charity was low. I find random acts of kindness charity much more freeing. Sample- giving $100 at the gas station to pay it forward to anyone putting $10 or less in gas in their car. You know those people are broke. Being in a grocery store when someone gets their card declined and covering the bill. Seeing two older people at a restaurant and paying their bill Or adopting a family at Christmas to buy gifts for. I get much less pleasure from writing a check to an institution. Even if said check is tax deductible.

[mwulff]

Honestly I don't donate to any charities. Since I live in a true wellfare state I consider my taxes to be all the charitable giving required to care for me and my fellow human beings. Our government also supports 3rd world countries in need.

I try to be as giving as I can in my personal relationships instead. Need help with moving? I'll be there. Need someone to talk to? I'll listen.

For me personally the personal aspect of helping is very important. I won't pour money into faceless organizations or organized religion in any way if I can help it.

PS. I should add that I gladly pay my taxes for all the benefits everyone receives from them.

[afox]

....

I also understand (from my involvement in various community groups) that donors love to give to projects that are tangible... but leave a charity with an asset to maintain. For instance, the number of marching bands with a base drum that says "Instruments donated By..." across the middle of it. Big, showy, tangible and advertises the donor. Those same bands however cannot afford transportation to the next parade, the parade entry fees, or insurance to run for the next year. We try to give to operating budgets whenever given a choice, because as nice as it is to have your name across the front of a chest freezer at the foodbank, the electricity to run it is just as important.

I am so glad to see this point about admin costs.  When I was working at MegaCorp I was in charge of the committee who ran the United Way campaign.  If I had a dollar for every donor who insisted that their donation monies should only go to programs and none to "overhead" then I'd be rich. 
I had to explain over and over that the only way for there to be zero admin costs was if you were to directly hand cash to a needy person.  They couldn't accept that every organization is also paying for utilities, staff salaries, some minimal additional fundraising costs, a building mortgage or rent, etc. 

Another reason that I wish everyone would participate in a behind-the-scenes work at a nonprofit so they can see how things get accomplished in the real world.

Yep, exactly the reason i dont give to most organizations. It seems like it would be better to "hire" someone to do ANYTHING for me and overpay them to the nth degree that to give money to an organization that hires professional to give out money. Im not about to hand out cash to people on the street. My mode of getting money to people has been to hire good people that need money and pay them very well, like paying someone $40 hr. to help me rake my leaves.

[LaineyAZ]

That's funny because I am almost the opposite - I know it's more fun for people to say, I donated $ to the homeless shelter for them to buy new blankets vs. I donated money to the homeless shelter for them to pay their utility bills this month.  But that's why my donation is un-restricted - I let the shelter managers determine what their budget needs are and where to allocate the money best. 

But I do agree with your choice to help directly because I do the same.  If I know a person is struggling to support themselves with 2-3 part-time jobs (like my hairdresser) than I'm more generous with cash tips. 
Both ways are valid and helpful to our society.  I'm just glad I am fortunate enough to be on the giving end. 

[Bee21]

I am just doing regular, automatic donations. It's easy. Pick a cause. Mine is higher education for underprivileged students.

[iris lily]

That's funny because I am almost the opposite - I know it's more fun for people to say, I donated $ to the homeless shelter for them to buy new blankets vs. I donated money to the homeless shelter for them to pay their utility bills this month.  But that's why my donation is un-restricted - I let the shelter managers determine what their budget needs are and where to allocate the money best. 

But I do agree with your choice to help directly because I do the same.  If I know a person is struggling to support themselves with 2-3 part-time jobs (like my hairdresser) than I'm more generous with cash tips. 
Both ways are valid and helpful to our society.  I'm just glad I am fortunate enough to be on the giving end.

Exactly.Unrestricted donations are the most useful.

People even love buying/donating actual physical products to centers for the unhoused, but that stuff has to be sorted, stored, and  kept clean.

Having lived in an urban core I have seen scads of bedding items strewn about public places and once even observed an entire industrial dumpster of the stuff at a church that services unhoused people.

Many of these places are long on “stuff” and short on useful cash.

[iris lily]

We are old now and have lotsa income and assets in fatfire.I give randomly to a small number  of organizations, all animal or historic building centered. I do not give to human centric charities, am just narrowing my focus to that which I value.

Over the years DH has put the brakes on giving out as much as I would like to give although he will acquiesce for recipients he likes. For instance, we gave $3,000 to a young friend who needed help during an extraordinary family tragedy. But that amount and that type of donation is unusual for us.

So anyway, heading into 2023, for the first time I got DH to agree to a set amount we will be giving out. He agreed to the tithing amount which is 10% of our income. That does not take into consideration that we have nice assets that should be spent down a little in this effort, but it is a good first step.

We have no children and no need to leave an estate to anyone. Yet, I want enough money for travel, new cars, and expensive nursing home care. It is a balancing act how much to spend now vs saving cor later.

The mechanics of our giving are this: we have checks tied to each of our IRA accounts. We can give directly out of those accounts and not pay tax on that amount nor does  the qualified charity have to pay tax.

[Cassie]

I have always given of my time and money. Never to big organizations though because I prefer that the money stays local.

[iris lily]

Honestly I don't donate to any charities. Since I live in a true wellfare state I consider my taxes to be all the charitable giving required to care for me and my fellow human beings. Our government also supports 3rd world countries in need.

I try to be as giving as I can in my personal relationships instead. Need help with moving? I'll be there. Need someone to talk to? I'll listen.

For me personally the personal aspect of helping is very important. I won't pour money into faceless organizations or organized religion in any way if I can help it.

PS. I should add that I gladly pay my taxes for all the benefits everyone receives from them.

I will not argue with you, I am sorta supporting you in that I do not give to human centric charities because that is what my tax dollars go for. In tact, I generally do not make donations to any tax supported institution with a couple of exceptions, and those exceptions are for targeted capital projects.

My tax dollars are not supporting the project I make donations to.

[lifeisshort123]

I give 10 percent of my paycheck. I don’t give all of it necessarily to my local church, but the vast majority is given to the mission of Christ through religiously affiliated organizations. I also give some to other organizations that matter to me, but don’t really include those in the 10 percent, so I probably give a little beyond that number when All is said and done.

I find it incredibly meaningful to give and help those in need. Some of my favorite charities include food banks, crisis pregnancy centers. RIP Medical Debt is another firm I find impressive, though I am worried they are becoming too corporate and am not sure if they still are as good as they were a few years ago. I just don’t know.

[ender]

We donate a large % of our income.

North of 15% of gross at this point in total (close to 20% if you account for my company donation match).

[FIRE 20/20]

I just want to add to the other people who have said that they have a DAF (Donor Advised Fund).  It's extremely easy to set up a DAF, and we also use Fidelity because they had the best combination of low fees and lower minimum gift amounts.  For those who don't know, a DAF basically lets you set up an account from which you can send donations to any IRS-recognized charity.  The benefit to you is that you can pull many years of charitable contributions into a year when you can get the biggest tax break.  It's great for people pursuing FIRE because it's common for us to have a high income year soon before FIRE, after which we often have very low (or at least much lower) income.   We saved thousands of dollars by setting up a DAF during our last full year of work.  The downside is that you cannot get the money back from the DAF after it's been deposited there.  It can ONLY be used for an IRS-recognized charity.  This is very important to understand before setting up a DAF!

I'm not sure I explained that very well, but if you know you'll want to contribute to charity during FIRE and if you have a high-income year before FIRE then a DAF is definitely something to look into. Nerdwallet has a good overview:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/taxes/donor-advised-funds

[kenner]

I do both time and monetary donations...I figure both have their place (ex. in-person volunteering doesn't do much to help the person who needs cash for a new heater while cash doesn't do much to help the person who isn't grasping <subject I can tutor>) and since I'm currently capable of both there's no reason not to.  I'm also building up a DAF while I'm working since it'll make it easy to continue monetary donations whenever I get around to retiring.

[mathlete]

I've gone back and forth on my charity thoughts a lot recently.

I used to be a regular ASPCA contributor. Then I got into effective altruism and cut out everything but Against Malaria and Wikipedia. Then I became more politically active for some mysterious reason in 2016. I started giving to USA-issue focused non-profits.

Last year or so, I got the idea that I'd probably die with a lot of money and I could give it away then. Now I just have my monthly giving to Wikipedia + donating nominal amounts whenever friends and family ask me to.

Donating a $1+ million when I'm dead sounds nice. But in the same way that the money I'm not donating now will appreciate to become that $1M later, charitable giving also appreciates. i.e., giving money to a family to keep their kid in school today >>> buying S&P shares and then giving it to that kid in 20 years after he's already dropped out.

Lots to think about.