When it comes to end-of-year giving, many stresses and sticky situations can crop up along the way. Some ways of giving might materialize out of nowhere, while others can inundate you with junk mail from now until the end of time. Deciding your year-end giving now will save you many possible headaches and avoid missteps. Take the time to step into the holiday season with a clear plan on who, when, how, and where to give.
Decide How and Where to Give Generously
Generous: Do you prefer to give cash or gifts? If you give gifts, do you give many small gifts or a few higher-dollar gifts? Whether you’re deciding on gifts for your loved ones or gifts for your favorite charity, determining how (and what) you’ll be giving is half the giving battle. Determine a fair dollar value for your gift(s) to allow your holiday plans to unfold stress-free.
Intentional: Are you active in social clubs, book clubs, or civic groups? If so, don’t get blindsided by a call for member contributions; anticipate them beforehand. Being intentional with your giving helps alleviate the discomfort and social norming of joining multiple white elephant and secret Santa gift exchanges or a pool to purchase a gift for the group’s organizer. Whatever the group’s preferred gift-giving agenda, accept the opportunity for group gifts or neighborhood tip pools to ease the effort of each member.
Values: If giving to charity, do you give to local or national organizations? When deciding upon one organization over another, consider your personal values instead of making a generic donation. Would you like your dollars to stay closer to home, where you’ll see the benefits, or do you want to make an impact by supporting a national organization? Consider whether you’d like to benefit the multitude of options—an underserved community, a cultural organization, a search for a cure, and shelter animals, or be more narrowly focused on just one or two causes.
Earnest: If a new (or new to you) organization catches your eye, perform a verification before making your contribution. Are your dollars going to a qualified organization? Verify the group’s current 501(c)3 tax status by checking the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool. If you’ve previously given to charities and now receive a tremendous amount of unsolicited mail, remove your name by visiting the mailing list removal link on give.org.
At Organized Instincts, our daily money managers help you determine how to avoid the most common social dilemmas and headaches of end-of-year giving. If you want to get out from under the burden, send us a message to discuss maximizing impact with less effort.
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