Make the Most of Your Giving Spirit

By JoAnn Turnquist

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year.  There is so much to celebrate during the holiday season, so much festivity and cheer.  But what’s most exciting is the spotlight on giving.  Or, the “giving spirit,” that society embraces like an old friend.  The holidays are a great time to encourage giving.  Giving brings joy throughout the year and even more so during the holiday season.  But how do you ensure that you make wise donation decisions?

This past week, we celebrated Giving Tuesday, the global wide day devoted to giving.  While it’s exciting to see a global celebration of giving, it can also be overwhelming to receive dozens of requests in just one day.  One way to handle the endless demand for your dollars is to plan ahead.  Determine what budget and charitable goals are realistic for you, then, give to the organizations that address your interests and fit within your budget.  Remember, every size donation counts and does make a difference!

The key to wise holiday giving is knowing where to give.  Identify why you are giving and what causes you care about.  Then, do your research.  One survey found that “. . . only about a third of donors do any research when making a charitable gift. They’re much more likely to spend time evaluating choices about jobs, business investments, or vacation plans with their family.”  Spend time checking the organizations you want to give to against the “Consumer Reports” of the charitable world, such as GuideStar or Charity Navigator.  The Foundation’s webpage “Make the Most of Your Giving,” provides tools and resources to guide your giving decisions in a variety of categories and is a great place to start your giving research.

There are many benefits to giving during the holiday season.  It’s a simple way to show your children that the holidays are more than receiving gifts.  You can add cheer to someone else’s holiday season and, your own.  And of course, there is always the added benefit of the tax deduction – a gift you will receive on April 15^th.  Regardless of your reason for getting in the “giving spirit” this holiday season, we hope you will be inspired to give generously and wisely.

Cheers!

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