Donating to Charity

Piggy bank. Image source.

Hi readers! It's January, and I do this thing where every January I write a blog post about setting up recurring donations. So here it is.

I personally have a good enough income that I feel I have a responsibility to give money to help people who need it. And I think this responsibility is something I should be deliberate about; I should have a plan, a goal. Not just wander through life and then when I see some charity ad that makes me sad, then I donate to that. No, it should be intentional. Figure out what your priorities are, and then donate your money in a way that reflects that. Research the actual things that different organizations are doing, and pick charities that are really making a difference.

And furthermore, I believe that as your income increases, the amount you donate should increase. But that's not just going to magically happen unless you plan it. So my suggestion is every year in January, set a goal about how much money you want to donate that year, then think about which issues are the most important to you, find charities which are working in those areas and doing good work, and set up monthly automatic donations to those charities. Automatic monthly donations are great because then you're still donating even if you don't have time to think about it.

And then the next year in January, maybe you'll be able to increase your donation amounts! If your salary has increased during the year, then you should increase your donations too.

For me personally, immigration is the issue I care most about. I am an immigrant in China, and so I want to help other immigrants and refugees. One organization I donate to is RAICES. (And there are other issues and charities I also donate to; I'm just giving 1 example here.)

So if you have a good enough income, I encourage you to do this! The more money you have, the more you should donate, but that won't happen unless you actually make a plan and then do it.