Level up your giving game

An easy-to-access tool on Charitable Impact can make charitable giving a habit, and set you up for success on life goals. 

Do you consider yourself a charitable person? And do you have the capacity to give to charity? If you answered yes to both of those questions, have you considered giving on a regular basis? If not, take a moment to determine what is holding you back. Think about how you can incorporate giving (within your budget and in line with your intentions) as a steady practice.

Let’s go one step further: Have you thought about setting a goal for your charitable giving? Setting a recurring deposit on your Impact Account is a simple and convenient way to give a fixed amount each month. With a recurring deposit, you can set it and forget it. Plus, there are tools and resources on Charitable Impact that can propel you towards your giving goal. One of these is a Giving Group. 

Be accountable to your giving

Giving Groups can transform your own giving into a shared movement. Plus, these customizable donation pages can augment your progress towards other personal goals. More on that later. 

So what is a Giving Group? The stand-alone, free-of-charge donation pages bring people together to raise money for one or several charities. Anyone can use one and you don’t need a cause or charity in mind to get started.

Giving Group features allow you to set a visible fundraising goal and invite people to join as members. Inviting friends is super simple in a tweet, a Facebook post, or an email. Anyone can support your Giving Group (even if they don’t have an Impact Account) and can receive a tax receipt for gifts above $5. Your members can also post comments and you can reply to them directly from the dashboard available on your Impact Account. 

Level up your generosity

We put together a list of some great hacks for using Giving Groups. Here are four ways to take your giving further…

1. Dedicate a Giving Group to a community you care about.

Now is an opportune time for reinventing how we connect with our friends and communities. Many social engagements have shifted online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe your monthly book club is still happening on Zoom, but your hockey practices have gone caput. Keep the team together by rallying everyone for a cause.

Aim for a goal and then have the group vote on one or several charities to disburse their donations. Or, let your friends choose for themselves. Friends can support the same charities through a Giving Group or, with several administrators on the Group, members can choose to give separately. You can easily find causes using our search tool, locating charities and other Giving Groups on Charitable Impact.

2. Use your Giving Group to keep you accountable to a personal goal.

Why not use a Giving Group for achieving something on the bucket list, like finally running 10K or finishing a passion project? Research has shown that sharing your goals with friends may help you better achieve them.

Use your Giving Group as a platform to talk about why you wanted to achieve your goal and, if you chose charities to support, what the cause means to you. Invite your friends to give as a way to pump you up along the way.

3. Track your progress through your Giving Group.

Set a cut off date for your fundraising goal to encourage friends and family to contribute within that time frame. Tip: it’s good to start small and be specific. Research shows that setting smaller goals with a shorter deadline can inspire you to work faster. And getting small rewards along the way to help you to keep going.

You can keep your Giving Group members up to date on your progress through the platform — and ask them for small donations at different steps in your journey.

4. Spark a lifelong habit of philanthropy.

Your generosity could become a lifelong mission. Keep in mind, it’s the journey, not the destination, that’s most important. A Giving Group can serve as a personal reminder for why you began this journey and how you’re going to get there.

For more inspiration, here are a few Giving Groups that reached their goals:

• Kindness 30 for Project Somos – Reached goal of $800, raised $830 total
• Delivering Happiness Project – Goal of $5,000, raised $4,755
• Cool Earth Chris and Katherine – Goal of $800, raised $905
• Fortinet Burnaby – BC Children’s – Goal of $5,000, raised approx. $9,000

By opening an Impact Account online with Charitable Impact, you are investing in your generosity and vision for change. Reach out to us anytime with questions, about setting up a recurring deposit, starting a Giving Group or any aspect of your giving. We are here to support your giving, your way. You can email [email protected], call 1-877-531-0580, or chat (www.charitableimpact.com).