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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Tis the season... to donate half of your income?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a lot less bold than those people you mentioned in your post. But I do donate as much as I think I can.

I think 1% is a very good amount to start with. Especially, given that you have just started building your own life.

When I started my full-time job, I started setting aside my pay for one hour per week, which equates to approximately 2.5%. I think about it this way - I work at least one hour per week for a cause I support. It feels really good. Plus, you might want to set up a regular donation to a charity of your choice. Don't wait till the end of the year to donate a lump sum. Regular donations are more helpful/effective to the charities you are tithing to. This way they have a regular pool of money they can rely upon.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Tis the season... to donate half of your income?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a lot less bold than those people you mentioned in your post. But I do donate as much as I think I can.

I think 1% is a very good amount to start with. Especially, given that you have just started building your own life.

When I started my full-time job, I started setting aside my pay for one hour per week, which equates to approximately 2.5%. I think about it this way - I work at least one hour per week for a cause I support. It feels really good. Plus, you might want to set up a regular donation to a charity of your choice. Don't wait till the end of the year to donate a lump sum. Regular donations are more helpful/effective to the charities you are tithing to. This way they have a regular pool of money they can rely upon.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Tis the season... to donate half of your income?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a lot less bold than those people you mentioned in your post. But I do donate as much as I think I can.

I think 1% is a very good amount to start with. Especially, given that you have just started building your own life.

When I started my full-time job, I started setting aside my pay for one hour per week, which equates to approximately 2.5%. I think about it this way - I work at least one hour per week for a cause I support. It feels really good. Plus, you might want to set up a regular donation to a charity of your choice. Don't wait till the end of the year to donate a lump sum. Regular donations are more helpful/effective to the charities you are tithing to. This way they have a regular pool of money they can rely upon.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Tis the season... to donate half of your income?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am not ashamed to admit that I am a lot less bold than those people you mentioned in your post. But I do donate as much as I think I can.

I think 1% is a very good amount to start with. Especially, given that you have just started building your own life.

When I started my full-time job, I started setting aside my pay for one hour per week, which equates to approximately 2.5%. I think about it this way - I work at least one hour per week for a cause I support. It feels really good. Plus, you might want to set up a regular donation to a charity of your choice. Don't wait till the end of the year to donate a lump sum. Regular donations are more helpful/effective to the charities you are tithing to. This way they have a regular pool of money they can rely upon.