A friend of mine recently emailed me with a suggestion about writing a post about giving. He himself is a very generous person and does great work with his community. So when he has a suggestion, I’m all ears.
No “One Size Fits All”
There is no “one size fits all” approach to giving. Giving looks a lot of different ways and can take many forms.
Some people may choose to give their time while others want to give monetarily. Others want to be involved both ways. There’s really not a right or wrong answer, it depends on how you want to do it.
How Much Should You Give?
How much you give us up to you. Some people like to have scheduled donations where it’s taken every month while others prefer to give as they are inspired.
Others have a giving fund and pull from that whenever they see someone or something they want to give to. Percentage wise, I’ve heard a lot of people say 10 percent of your income, but again, it’s your call. I don’t personally think there is a set amount or rule.
Who Should You Give To?
There are endless causes and people you can give to. Some examples:
- Charities
- Individuals
- Large tip to someone who gave you exceptional service
- Scheduled donations
- The individual route like a server who provided incredible service, someone going through hard times, or big charities that do the legwork of spending the donations for you.
In my opinion, if you want to give, it should be to a cause you believe in and are inspired by. It shouldn’t be to try and impress others or just for the tax break.
Conclusion: Benefits of Giving and the Gift of Giving
There are countless benefits to giving. There are of course the benefits everyone can see like the tax benefits but I think the biggest benefit is the gratification of helping someone in need.
That’s kind of a priceless gift because you can’t really put a price tag on how you feel or make someone else feel.
In the end, I think that the act of giving itself is a gift. Both to the person giving and the one receiving.
