Hey everyone! I’ve been away and came home with a cold, so if you’ve wondered why you haven’t seen much from me, that’s the reason! I’m hoping to share lots of Christmas decorating and baking and party ideas with you all soon, but in the meantime, today is Giving Tuesday, when we’re supposed to take whatever we have left after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday (and it’s only right before the mortgage/rent is due) and give to the charity of our choice. If you’d like to get into the habit of charitable giving, here are a few ideas and things to think about.
Don’t Keep the Change
Many of us have a “change jar” at home where we dump any excess change we have. Instead of just cashing it in when the jar gets full, why not cash it in and give the money to a charity? Some of the coin redemption machines even offer an option where they’ll send your donation for you.
Automatic Donations
If there is a particular charity you know you’d like to support, consider setting up an automatic payment with your bank, so a donation goes to “your” charity every month. If you give just $10 a month, that’s $120 a year, which is a nice chunk of change.
Give Time
If the answer to what you have left three days before the end of the month is $0.00, what about donating your time to a charity? Very few charitable organizations have as many volunteers as they need, and most of them need all types of volunteers – you never know until you ask. You might be able to bake or cook, take part in a walkathon, sort groceries in a food pantry, make deliveries, or even help organize an event!
Look Before You Give
Recently, a couple was in the news for scamming people who thought they were contributing to help a homeless man. I think most people are basically good, but two notes of caution before you give. First, I would be wary of giving to any Go Fund Me that isn’t set up by someone I personally know. I trust my friends a lot more than I trust random strangers trying to tug at my heartstrings! Second, when you’re thinking of donating to a well-known organization, check Charity Navigator or Charity Watch to see how much of your money actually goes to fundraising and administrative costs. Some well-known charities do a great job of actually getting your donation to the cause it’s supposed to be benefiting, and others spend a lot of money on mailings and office staff.
Hope you all have a great Giving Tuesday!