A lot of times when budgets are posted, people are criticized for the amount of their charitable giving.
So I'm wondering what people think is the *right* amount to be giving.
Assume that we aren't talking about tithing to a church, which I think is a different issue. Assume non-religious people who are in a healthy financial situation but we're not taking about the obscenely wealthy.
What percent of their income (and please say if you mean gross or take home) do you think people who are in that kind of situation generally should be giving to charity?
I don't judge anyone who does or doesn't give to charity...sometimes people just haven't found the right one for them. But I do feel like it makes a life fuller when you are helping other people. I don't think there is a magic percentage, I think it is better when someone finds a cause the love, and gives what they feel. For example, I want to donate to a charity where they require a sponsor for a woman for a war torn country. The cost will be $30/month to sponsor one woman. Once I am working full-time, that will be a very small portion of our overall monthly income, and I suppose I could always give more, but at least it is something.
To answer your question...I am pretty much useless, lol.
Well I'll put it out there, our charitable giving $ wise, such as writing a check, is minimal right now. We donate a lot, esp to Habitat from our remodels and I also volunteer a lot through my sorority alum group.
I think 10% is a great goal, but honestly I find 5% is more achievable if you're one with not a lot of extra income.
Post by kimibrighteyes on Dec 21, 2012 9:57:55 GMT -5
This is a good question. I don't know if I have a good answer. We have been trying to increase the amount we give to charity slowly every year as I realized that I wasn't giving very much. I read that the average American spends about 2%. I would like to aim for about 5% (net)
I'd bet that the answer is always "more than they're giving" to certain posters.
lol, I think this is true too.
As for people's judgey thoughts about this issue, I wonder if they differentiate between people who give money and people who give time. If you give a lot of money, does that mean you are off the hook for giving of your time or vice versa?
(obviously the ideal is to do both but I'm wondering about the extremes here)
As part of our monthly budget, we typically give a set amount to our church collection each week.
Aside from this we give to a specific cause annually and also are involved with an annual fundraiser in honor of a family member. This gives me much more fulfillment than giving to our church if I'm being completely honest, but it's more about time spent and involvement than writing the check, if that makes sense.
I have no idea. H and I tithe so it's hard for me to say what other people should give. To me, it's important to push yourself to give. Don't think of it as, what is super convenient for me to give, but rather, what am I able to give? Is that time? Money? I think it's good for you and for the people you're helping for you to sacrifice (money or time) for other people.
I also feel $$$ towards charitable contributions is just one piece of the puzzle... I honestly feel like the volunteering people do of their time and efforts trumps most monetary contributions, but those obviously don't appear in MM budgets, kwim?
I don't know. I think people should give what they're comfortable giving and what they feel good about giving - in terms of balance between taking care of others less fortunate and taking care of their own needs - and that's pretty much it. I don't have a particular number in mind.
Giving is such a personal thing. Giving blood is important to me, and I do it 7 or 8 times a year. Other people, who are perfectly qualified to donate (including Calvin) don't, because they don't feel good doing it, for whatever reason. It's no more my place to tell (or suggest) to people what to do with their money than their blood.
As far as monetary charitable giving, I have no idea how much we give, % wise. I figure it out at the end of the year, and it is what it is. Our budget has a "Gifts & charitable contributions" line that confounds gifts to friends/family with charity.
I have no idea. H and I tithe so it's hard for me to say what other people should give. To me, it's important to push yourself to give. Don't think of it as, what is super convenient for me to give, but rather, what am I able to give? Is that time? Money? I think it's good for you and for the people you're helping for you to sacrifice (money or time) for other people.
Post by LoveTrains on Dec 21, 2012 10:11:08 GMT -5
I work in philanthropy, so I would love to encourage people to give more. But I am not going to criticize people for not giving to charity if they have a very tight budget.
Where I do get a little judgy is on the big dogs or people that have seems to have tons of money. I think it would also help them on their taxes, too. There are lots of advanced/MM 2.0 ways to give that can provide tons of savings like gifting stock, doing charitable gift funds, etc.
all in all, I would love to see people give anywhere between 1 - 10% of their incomes to charity. If someone is giving less than 1% and is a DINK and is amassing tons of extra cash that they are sitting on, that is where I judge.
I do think that everyone can find SOME cause to give to. That is obviously very personal, but I juts think it is sad if one can't find at least one nonprofit to give to that will make them feel good about themselves.
We don't really aim for a specific percentage. We give a certain amount every year to certain organizations and causes we really care about, and try to volunteer with them if we can (although our volunteer work has been zero since we moved abroad). However, we always end up knowing someone personally raising money for a cause near and dear to them. So, in those cases, when they send us the kickstart link (is that what it's called), we tend to be generous.
I don't have a good answer to this. I think if people have a comfortable budget and are meeting savings goals, they should be prioritizing charity over toys or eating out or whatever. I don't mean don't do those things - but if people are spending 2k a month on "fun" and nothing on charity, I do side eye that. I think it just shows entitlement or living in a bubble or whatever you might want to call it.
However, if someone isn't doing well financially and is giving away 10% of their income a month, I also think a) they are a better person than me and b) they are being foolish.
So I guess my answer is really "it depends". I do know eventually I'd like to give 10% of our take home, but we aren't anywhere near that right now and likely won't be until we pay off a bunch of debt and/or have higher incomes. Right now we give when we can and I volunteer, and extra money goes toward savings or paying off stuff early (or honestly, buying stuff is the issue a lot of the time too).
I don't think anyone should do anything that puts them in a bad spot or that is more than they want to do - assuming they are/want to do SOMETHING. It's those who give nothing that I have trouble not judging.
There really is no set amount. Everyone is in a different place in life. As a DINK couple in a LCOL area making healthy salaries and not really having any other financial obligations, I think we are much more obligated to donate time and/or money to charity as opposed to someone who makes the same in a HCOL or someone with a few kids.
It really never crosses my mind to judge people for not donating money to charity. I'd hope they are donating their time instead.
I dont judge, people give what they can and when they can. We don't have a line item ourselves monthly, but we give during certain times of year for certain causes.
I don't judge anyone who does or doesn't give to charity...sometimes people just haven't found the right one for them.
I think this is true. It feels good to give to something that is personally meaningful to you. If you find a cause or organization that is important to you, it doesn't feel like a sacrifice.
I dont judge, people give what they can and when they can. We don't have a line item ourselves monthly, but we give during certain times of year for certain causes.
This isn't an attack on you but I really don't think most people "give what they can, when they can." I truthfully don't think most people think about charitable giving. I frequently wonder how much better or society would be if we pushed each other to be generous and charitable with our time and money. We don't. We get uncomfortable.
I don't think there should be a set % of income given to charity. I think a person (rich, middle class or poor) should give what then can, when then can to whichever cause the see fit.
I do think that everyone can find SOME cause to give to. That is obviously very personal, but I juts think it is sad if one can't find at least one nonprofit to give to that will make them feel good about themselves.
I do agree with this, unless someone is totally self-centered and only concerned with well-to-do people...but I don't think those people are very common. My point was more to that someone may not have found the charity they connect to YET. While giving is good, I totally understand the reluctance sometimes because when it is a big org, you feel like your money gets lost in administrative costs, and smaller orgs that people might feel better about are harder to find because they aren't spending money to promote themselves. That said, if someone is looking for a good charity, I have a list of great woman-centered charities!
I think it just depends. We give a lot of money to the Catholic Church and I know that most of the money does get funneled down to the needy. But they're pretty well known for being on the up and up.
I dont judge, people give what they can and when they can. We don't have a line item ourselves monthly, but we give during certain times of year for certain causes.
I would never attempt to put a blanket rule on something like this.
Charitable giving is something that is very important TO US. Our goal is to get to 10%. (We will probably be somewhere in the 5-8% range this year, depending how income shakes out) Perhaps this is because we both grew up in homes where tithing was encouraged (although my parents don't tithe), and giving was a normal part of life and financial discussions.
Very little of our current giving goes to overtly religious organizations or churches, but it is still important to us to support organizations and causes we believe in. We currently have one substantial pledge to a cause we are passionate about and an organization we trust. Then 2-3 other monthly gifts and a lot of random donations here and there.
I really try not to judge as I know it's just not something others want to focus on.