{"id":1344,"date":"2018-11-26T22:19:28","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T06:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intrinsicwealthcounsel.com\/?p=1344"},"modified":"2023-04-28T05:53:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T13:53:09","slug":"fresh-perspectives-new-resources-to-guide-your-giving-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intrinsicwealthcounsel.com\/intrinsic-blog\/fresh-perspectives-new-resources-to-guide-your-giving-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh Perspectives & New Resources To Guide Your Giving Decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u00a0<\/p>

Regardless of how or where we choose to give, most of us would like to feel confident that our financial donations are being used wisely.\u00a0 Thanks to technology and some out-of-the-box thinkers in the social sector, we now have a bevy of new tools at our fingertips and excellent educational resources that will guide our giving in a smart and purposeful ways.<\/p>

Picking a Charity<\/strong><\/p>

Until recently, most guidelines for charitable giving recommended that we spend time researching charities and then select from those that limit overhead to less than 20 percent of their total budgets.\u00a0 However, many experts now question these criteria because expense ratios alone provide a limited perspective of a charity\u2019s value and effectiveness.<\/p>

In contrast, organizations that analyze charities are increasingly evaluating non-profits based on how well they are delivering on their missions.\u00a0 To accomplish this goal, rating systems need to go beyond number crunching and bottom line analyses to include subjective criteria as well.<\/p>

GreatNonprofits.org<\/a>, for example, uses a methodology similar to Yelp.com that created a means for sharing reviews of restaurants and services via the Internet.\u00a0 In a recent interview, CEO Perla Ni described the role of GreatNonprofits as two-fold:<\/p>

To collect feedback that helps both donors and nonprofits better understand the effect of the nonprofits\u2019 activities on the ground in the local community and to bring the highly-reviewed nonprofits, as rated by their local community, to the forefront.<\/p>

MyPhilanthropedia.com<\/a> also offers a new way to evaluate charities based on survey responses of qualified experts.\u00a0Each group of experts includes foundation professionals, researchers, and others who have an average of 8 to 20 years of experience in their sector.\u00a0 The experts recommend nonprofits based on their impact and other organizational strengths, but are not allowed to recommend the organizations with which they are affiliated.<\/p>

Creating a Giving Plan<\/strong><\/p>

There are no hard and fast rules about how much giving is the right amount.\u00a0 This has to be a personal decision, but it often helps to know what others are doing and how they make their donation decisions.<\/p>

While many may choose to give far more, MyPhilanthropedia.com<\/a> offers an easy to implement strategy to those who have not yet committed to a specific charitable giving goal:<\/p>

While everyone\u2019s situation is unique, consider this simple formula for deciding your annual contribution.\u00a0Your income may rise and (hopefully not) fall, so no need to stick to a fixed annual amount.\u00a0 What about donating 1% of your annual income to the causes you care about and the organizations that are doing the best work in those areas?\u00a0You can set up a monthly recurring payment to provide consistent support that is always within your budget.\u00a0 Only 1% is not that much, but it can make a big difference.<\/em><\/p>

Another tip comes from Jason Franklin who is the Executive Director of BolderGiving.org<\/a>:<\/p>

Once you have determined the amount you’d like to give and the causes you’d like to support, we recommend dividing your funds into 3 pools:<\/em><\/p>