CHARITY
One of the major challenges faced by people who want to be more charitable is that they don’t know how. The closest we get to education on how to give tends to come from non-uniform days at school or national televised appeals twice a year. Yet there is so much more.
Here are seven big and small things you could do to give yourself one of the best feelings in the world by supporting a charitable cause.
Volunteer some time every week for 90 days
People often don’t volunteer because they are worried they have to make a lifetime commitment. Guess what? You don’t! Many organisations would love to have a regular contribution of your time over the next 90 days. Just 3 hours a week equates to 36 hours in a 90-day period! Don’t think about it as volunteering; think more as if you are offering to help for a bit.
Raise some serious money
Any amount of money is brilliant to raise but why not go for raising some serious cash for a cause close to your heart?
I was a professional fundraiser for five years and during that time I would see one person’s coffee morning raise £15 and another’s raise £150. How? It was nothing to do with the people they were attracting; it was more to do with focus. Some people used a charity fundraiser as an opportunity to have a good time and if they raised some money then that was a bonus. Others focused on raising the most money possible while also having a good time. So, go for it! Set yourself a 90-day target and see what you can achieve.
Support core running costs
For charities, it’s much easier to fundraise for the sexy stuff than for core running costs and salaries. Fuelled by dramatists, some people are led to believe charity running costs are too high. Some may be, but most aren’t. So, why not make a donation just to support the day-to-day costs?
Create leverage
One of the best ways to get maximum benefit from your donation is to see whether your donation will have a potential effect far bigger than simply what it will buy.
A relatively small donation to a campaigning group in a small town in California gave them the funds they needed to launch an initiative to encourage local schools to buy locally grown organic fruit and vegetables. This then led to a county-wide initiative and, currently, a state proposal. Tens of thousands of young people are eating healthier food, local organic farmers are feeling the benefits and a major change has occurred. All because one person identified the key entry point.
Investing in the development of leadership in organisations is another powerful way to do this.
Give your expertise
You probably have some specific skills that a charity would appreciate. You’ll be amazed at how grateful people will be if you give your expertise. For more ideas, see Chapter 33.
Here’s an extra thought. When you do give your expertise, only take it as far as the people you are helping want you to take it. You want to be known as a ‘Brilliant helpful person’ – not ‘That pain who wanted to change everything’.
Get it on the family agenda
Do you spend time as a family discussing the type of charity you want to support and how? Why not ask each member of your family to research one organisation they would like to support, then bring their findings to the table and discuss them? What could be better than spending time over a family meal discussing the causes you are interested in and how you can help them?
Give a major personal donation
I know there are people reading this book who can afford to give a major gift and just haven’t got round to it yet. Why? It’s usually because people don’t know ‘who to give it to’, ‘how much to give’ or think they ‘can’t give enough’.
Did you know that more money is given to charity (as a percentage of wealth) by poorer people in the UK? As Salvatore LaSpada* of the UK-based Institute for Philanthropy says: ‘Philanthropy is the domain of the poor.’ You don’t need to be a billionaire to be a philanthropist!
Take a look at www.guidestar.org.uk, which lists thousands of charities in the UK.
How much to give? A major gift should be enough so you feel a little ‘financial pain’ but not so much that you won’t want to do it again.
For more advice on large-gift donations, and other areas of philanthropy, visit www.instituteforphilanthropy.org.uk.
Something everyone can do
- You know when you stay in a hotel and they give you those little bottles of shampoo and stuff in the bathroom? Try not to use them; instead, collect as many as you can and drop them off at a homeless shelter.
- Buy the Big Issue and, if you don’t want to read it, give it back to the seller so they can sell it again.
- Write a letter for Amnesty International. Visit www.amnesty.org to find out how. (I just did it, found a cause I supported and wrote a letter – it took me six minutes.)
- Instead of trying to look skyward so you don’t catch their eye, give some spare change (or at least a smile) the next time you are asked.
- Help an elderly person across the road. (Best to ask if they actually want to cross the road first!)
- Give decent clothes to a charity shop. They’ll be grateful for anything but before you hand it over ask ‘Is this wearable?’ If you buy something from a charity shop insist on giving them more than they ask – it’s called reverse haggling and it’s a hoot!
- The next time you see a person with a collecting tin give them all your change and encourage your mates to do the same thing. Then thank the collector profusely for their hard work.
How many times to give?
When I was a kid my Dad taught me a brilliant lesson about giving to charity. It was close to Christmas and the local Salvation Army brass band was playing in the main street of our town. As he walked past, my Dad put some money in the tin. Mum and Dad then went to the supermarket to do the weekly ‘big shop’. About an hour later they left laden with bags and there (now in the supermarket car park) was the Salvation Army band, still playing carols. Right on cue a cheery lady with a tin waved it in front of my parents. Once again, Dad made a donation.
That night sitting at home watching TV they heard the sounds of Hark the Herald Angels Sing drifting down their street. You guessed it, the Salvation Army band. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. My Dad jumped up and was greeted by another Salvation Army volunteer with a tin. Once again, he happily made a donation.
Returning to his comfy sofa, my Mum said: ‘Why didn’t you tell her you’d already given to them twice today?’
Dad said: ‘I would hope that if someone needed shelter on a bitterly cold evening like tonight the Salvation Army wouldn’t say, “You’ve already been here twice.”’
When it comes to charity, don’t expect the government to fund everything. Park your cynicism. Give a little more than you planned. Make it tax efficient (charities get lots more that way). Educate yourself about giving and the impact you can make. Keep on doing it!
* Thank you to Salvatore LaSpada of the Institute for Philanthropy for his help with this section.