Budgeting for a Charitable Cause

It is always better to give than to receive, especially if you are giving to a worthy cause.  But what if you don’t really have much to give?  It seems that only the wealthy can afford to be generous (though of course, a lot of them aren’t), but that isn’t necessarily the case.  There are many ways to help those who are in need, and even if you do not have too much money, you can still work within your budget in order to support a charitable cause. Before you start donating to charity, you should first figure out how much money you can give away.  If you have either a variable income or a fixed annual salary, you can set aside a specific percentage of your income for the year, 10 % for instance, to give out to charity.  But instead of donating the complete amount all at once, it would be a lot more easy on your budget if you give out your charity money in installments, say at least 3 payments, or even as much as 12.  To get yourself in the habit, you can even open up a bank account for the sole purpose of earning for charity.  If you don’t want to donate in installments, you might want to try accumulating money first by investing in a bond fund, or other investment vehicles, on a monthly basis for a minimum period of one year.  Investing will not only help you save but it will also make your money earn interests, allowing you to donate a higher amount of money. Even if you have a strong desire to give to the less fortunate, obviously you can’t give out to everybody.  So the next step is to decide on which charity you will donate to.  Maybe there’s a specific cause that’s particularly close to your heart; perhaps feeding the hungry, shelter for the homeless, orphans, disease-research, etc.  Or perhaps some calamity occurs which demands immediate aid.  It’s all up to you.  You would then scout for the particular charitable institutions that deal with the cause of your choice, and narrow them down to which institution is in need of more help and would benefit much more from the aid that you are offering. But let’s say that you decide to give to charity on short notice, and it so happens that you do not have enough money to do so.  Fortunately, there are other ways to help the needy than just giving away money.  If you can’t give in cash, you can still give in kind.  Depending on the cause, you can donate food, clothing, books, even toys; anything that would help the helpless and bring hope back to the hopeless.  Aside from material goods, another thing you can donate is your time.  You can do volunteer work at a clinic or home for the aged, or you can bring cheer to children in an orphanage.  And if you don’t think that your efforts are enough, spread the word, whether online or in person, and get others to lend their support to your cause.  If even one man can make a difference, just think what the help of many can accomplish. Image Credit:  http://www.mycharity.ie