Sustaining generosity beyond the holidays

The year 2020 asked a lot from us. Help — whether in donations or even just attention — might’ve been hard to give when you required some yourself.

If your finances are in better shape in the 2021 giving season, you can be more strategic with your dollars. The same issues you felt strongly about last year may not be on your priority list now. Perhaps the reverse is true — you’re more determined than ever to support the causes you care about.

Here are tips on prioritizing causes, supporting them effectively and making room in your wallet for sustained giving.

Shaping your plan

Write down the two or three causes that matter most to you, whether it’s a global issue like slowing down climate change or something closer to home, like supporting your local animal shelter. A giving plan may serve as a guidepost for your dollars when tragic news events clamor for your attention or injured puppy photos on your social media feed play on your emotions. Impulsive donations are helpful and feel good at the moment, but they’re easy to forget and don’t make a lasting impact.

You might also go bigger and really focus on your values in the giving plan to guide your efforts beyond the holidays.

Think about the kind of philanthropist you want to be in 2022 and then plan for it, says Holly Belkot, manager of strategic giving at GlobalGiving, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that supports other nonprofits by connecting them to donors and companies.

Small regular donations make impact

One powerful way to champion your favorite cause is through small, recurring donations.

"Recurring donations are the lifeblood of nonprofits," says Soraya Alexander, chief operating officer at Classy, a digital fundraising platform for nonprofits based in San Diego, California. Alexander says the majority of one-time donors do not come back to support a nonprofit, and it’s a resource-intensive process for the organization to find new ones.

For millennials, she says, who are both passionate about sustained giving and already used to Netflix-style subscription payments, recurring donations are an easy way to make a big impact. "Ten dollars a month is going to have higher payoff for the organization and should make it easier for you to give a greater amount than you might normally feel comfortable with."

Just as a monthly budget allows you to plan your spending, these donations allow nonprofits to plan operations for the year. Since many organizations automatically sign up regular donors to receive newsletters or project updates, recurring donations also allow you to stay engaged with the group.

Choosing who to support

How do you actually choose where to send your money?

"It can be really overwhelming when you care about something but you don’t know what the ‘right’ nonprofit is to support," Belkot says.

To solve this conundrum, GlobalGiving selects a handful of nonprofits working on the same issue and groups them together into a "fund" that individuals can donate to. Examples include a Girl Fund, aimed at improving the lives of girls around the world, or a Climate Action Fund. Donations are divided equally among the nonprofits, she says.

Technology can also play a role in helping you decide where to donate, says Wale Mafolasire, CEO of Givelify, a mobile app that facilitates donations to churches and nonprofits, based in Indianapolis.

Givelify’s approach is similar to GlobalGiving’s funds. The company uses artificial intelligence to group nonprofit organizations into causes within the app, says Mafolasire. Givelify also highlights "trending causes" for users to choose from.

Resources like Charity Navigator, Candid (formerly GuideStar) and your local Community Foundation website also are good ways to vet nonprofits and pick ones that resonate with you.

Amrita Jayakumar is a writer at NerdWallet.