Giving Tuesday is a big day for charities because some of their contributions are matched dollar for dollar by big donors. Sites like Global Giving make donating easy and big donors help boost your contributions by matching your donation during matching campaigns. Participating charities get twice the funds, if not more, to support their mission.
In my family, we give throughout the year. We are able to do this because giving is in our budget. This blog will show you how to make giving back a part of your family budget. That way, you can help charities support those most in need.
Set a Giving Goal
My husband and I set a goal to donate 10 percent of our income to charities each year. We are glad to be in a financial position to donate to nonprofits. And we make it a point to give more if we have extra money at the end of the year. In the beginning, we started out with a much smaller goal and increased it each year.
However, our ability to give at this level did not happen overnight. Before we had money to give, we donated items to local charities. These donations would still help those in need, but we didn’t have to part with critical income for our bills.
As our income increased, we started to donate money (versus stuff) to organizations. One year, I found we were donating the most money at the end of the year. So the following year, we I set a goal to give 5 percent and then later 10 percent of our income away to charities throughout the year.
If you are not sure if you can afford to give to charities, start by setting a giving goal. Then break that goal down into affordable monthly payments. You can donate to an organization each month or set the money aside and give once or twice a year.
To make our giving goal a reality, we broke our donations down into monthly and quarterly payments. For example, for we pay tithes to our church monthly, but donate to our alma maters quarterly.
Check out: Set SMART Goals, See Success
Put Giving into Your Budget
Just like any other expense, charitable donations should be factored into your budget. This helps you and your family better plan for this expense and ensures you don’t overspend elsewhere.
When we set our giving goal, I looked at all of our expenses and calculated what portion of our excess cash could be committed to charitable donations. To help ensure the donations got to our organizations I set up automatic drafts for some, like our church. Others, like schools and other nonprofit organizations, I paid with a personal check or online as we wanted to donate.
Track your contributions
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did not change your ability to deduct donations. However, you have to itemize your donations to claim this tax deduction. Also, under the new tax bill, the standard deduction amounts have nearly doubled.
Under the new law, individuals need more than $12,000 in itemized deductions to write off donations. Whereas, previously the minimum was $6,350. The amount for married couples also changed. The minimum for couples jumped from $12,700 to $24,000.
The requirement to itemize your deductions is more reason to track your contributions. Keep all receipts and transaction records. You don’t have to submit this info to the IRS but it helps you add up your donations when you are doing your taxes and is useful if you ever experience an IRS audit.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the higher itemized contribution amounts. If you are managing your money well, increasing your income streams, and building wealth, you will need tax deductions. A tax deduction for giving a lot to charity, is a great one to have.
Check out: Taxes, What To Do If You Owe
Trust but Verify
Once you have identified who you want to give to, do your research to confirm this organization is aligned with your values and passion. You can always check to see how the charity is spending their money by looking them up on Charity Navigator.
Charity Navigator is a nonprofit that evaluates most major charitable organizations. Their website shows how much an organization spends on their overhead expenses versus their causes.
If you choose to donate to a local, less known organization, do your due diligence. Make sure they are a real nonprofit or charitable organization. This is important and determines if your donation will be tax deductible.
Other Ways to Give
Websites
If you are not able to give consistently, consider using websites where companies donate a portion of your purchase to charity. AmazonSmile, (Red) Products, and Toms are just a few websites that donate to charities when you make a purchase.
There are several ways to shop for a cause. With the holiday season upon us consider shopping for gifts with companies that donate to charity a portion of your sale. This way you can do good and shop for those you love.
Combined Federal Campaign & Employee Match Programs
If you are a federal government employee you can sign up to give to a list of approved charities through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) during the enrollment period September 2018 to January 2019. CFC is one of the largest charity campaigns and results in millions being donated to reputable charities impacting the world. As an federal employee, you can set your annual giving amount, which can be paid at once or through payroll deductions. This ensures that you give a large amount, but it’s broken down per paycheck.
If you are not a federal employee, but still want to give, see if your company offers an employer matching gift program. In such programs, your employer will match or even multiply a donation that you make to a charity. This helps boost the charity’s donations and their impact towards their causes. All you have to do is fill out a form or let the charity know that your company matches employee donations to certain organizations.
Volunteering
Also don’t forget that volunteering is a great way to help others and only costs you your time. Most of us think we don’t have time to help but some organizations will take volunteers anytime for any length of time.
You could stuff envelopes for a mailing campaign, assemble boxes for local charity recipients, or spend time with program participants. See what your schedule can permit. I am sure the organizations will appreciate you for any minute you can spare.
I encourage you to donate to charities all year round because they need donations throughout the year, not just during the holiday season. Share with our community ways that you give. Your suggestion might inspire others to do the same.