Effective Ways to Give to Charity

Create an effective philanthropy strategy that’s optimized for your charitable giving. 

Wanting to help others comes naturally, but knowing how or what tools you have to make a difference through charitable giving doesn’t always. Whether you’re a seasoned philanthropist or just starting your charitable journey, you can create a personalized giving strategy that’s unique to you. 

 Improve your giving strategy

Knowing how and where to give can be challenging. Check out these 7 tips on how to give more effectively. While there are many discussions and approaches to effective philanthropy, in this case, we are defining effective giving as charitable actions that bring the greatest joy, meaning, or personal satisfaction. 

1. Identify what truly matters to you

Finding a charity or charities to support can seem overwhelming when there are 86K+ to choose from. First, define your giving style and determine how you can wish to interact with your giving. Next, define your values and write a mission statement.  

2. Find charities to give to 

Understanding the impact of your giving is more likely to bring satisfaction and joy to your generosity. When you search for charities through your Impact Account, you can optimize your search through various tools and tactics to align your giving to your values. 

3. Determine how much to give to charity 

Whether you have a yearly or monthly goal in mind, budgeting for your giving might be easier than you think. Did you know that most Canadians tend to give less than 1% of their annual income? 

According to a median income of $55,700 (as defined according to the 2020 Statistics Canada survey), setting aside 1% of your income for charity would be equal to around $330 a year or about $7 a week. 

Determine how much you want to give and schedule or plan according to that number. You can start with an annual number and then divide it by 12 if you would like to set up a monthly deposit. 

4. Create a plan for your giving 

Think about how you’d like to divide your charitable budget into ongoing topics or if you want to set aside some of your charitable budget to support a friend’s fundraiser or in support of immediate relief efforts. 

Do you want to give locally or globally? Are you looking to address immediate or long-term goals? When you set up a monthly deposit, you can manage your emotions around giving while sticking to your budget.  

5. Automate your giving 

Automating your giving through a monthly deposit or recurring gift is an easy way to make sure you’re on track to reach your giving goal. You can do this by setting up a monthly donation into your Impact Account. 

If anything changes, you can easily adjust or cancel automatic deposits and gifts. You can give to the causes you care about and build charitable giving seamlessly into your life. 

6. Create a legacy of generosity 

When you dedicate dollars to charity and give consistently to causes you care about throughout your lifetime, charities can plan and budget for their projects and programs. 

You can even start a tradition of generosity by teaching your children the value of giving as a way to scale your giving over time. Another tip: consider designating a DAF, like Charitable Impact, in your will to enable a flexible giving legacy. 

7. Make a bigger impact by maximizing your charitable gift 

Consider giving assets to make a bigger impact—and give more cost-effectively. Charitable Impact accepts donations of publicly and privately traded securities, real estate, cryptocurrency, life insurance, and even art. If you need support, you can always reach out to us. 

Measure the impact of your charitable giving 

Now that you know how to improve your giving, breaking down your vision of a brighter future will seem more tangible. Measure your impact by creating a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely) goal. We’ve created these handy prompts to put your giving strategy into action: 

Specific: What cause or charity will contribute to your brighter future? Consider the cadence of your giving and state a dollar amount you wish to give either monthly or yearly. 

Measurable: How you’ll keep track of your generosity over time? Will you set up a giving goal or use the account activity feature through your Impact Account? 

Attainable: How will you make this possible? Is setting up a monthly deposit or recurring gift work better for your giving style? 

Realistic: Define your values in your mission statement and reassess your budget to ensure your giving fits your budget’s bottom line. 

Timely: Decide when you want to start your journey in generosity, then define when you wish to reach your goal. 

Charitable Impact operates as a donor-advised fund—a tool used by philanthropists and a growing number of Canadians. Unlock new ways to give with an Impact Account: accessing time and space to make informed giving decisions, rallying others to give, giving as a family, passing generosity on to future generations, giving non-cash assets, or investing in giving with Charitable Investment Account. Talk to us today to learn more.