Now that I’m in an age and income bracket that can afford it, I’ve been trying to be more liberal with donating to causes that seem worthwhile. Yesterday my partner and I were walking around a large cultural event thing in Kiel (Germany) - thousands of people, lots of overpriced food trucks, lots of local bands and artists.
One artist had a workshop in a little glass cube and was making wooden sculptures all day. Huge crowd all around watching him. He had a sign up front explaining that he had been struggling financially because art is a luxury and one of the first things people stop buying when the cost of living goes up. The sign also had a QR link to his Gofundme, so I tossed him 5 bucks with no second thought. Kind of assumed that he’d be getting plenty of little donations like that, just because there were so many people and the event overall was very “12€ avocado toast” coded.
But once I got home I checked the donation history and it turns out I was the only one who donated at all that day:
Ngl, I was kinda upset about that and even checked the Url from different devices to make sure it wasn’t a website caching thing. I definitely will be upping my donation once I get home tonight, but in the meantime I’d be curious to learn about the average consensus on donations - How much and under which conditions do you donate (or would donate if you could afford it)? Do you do rare but big donations or small ones spread over lots of causes?
Do you do rare but big donations or small ones spread over lots of causes?
Subscribing for regular donation is much better for the project because it helps them plan long tern.
If there is a donation button and its a project, media item, service, etc that I use enough that I would buy it, I often donate. The amount depends on how badly they need the help. If I they try to steer me to recurring donations I don’t donate at all (having the option as an opt-in is okay).
I’m not sure where you live, so you may approach it differently.
I’ve been donating for probably 15 years to various charities via regular donations to registered charities. I usually check donation websites to ensure that the charities I’ve picked are spending my money in a way I deem appropriate. This will depend on your country but I use charityintelligence.ca in Canada. Registered charities in Canada are great for donations, because you can claim them in your taxes and get back a significant amount of money on your tax refund. For example, I donate about $1000/year this way and including my donations on my taxes usually increases my tax refund by about $600-700, or at the very least it takes my taxes from owing to even. I can feel more comfortable about spending money on a good cause rather than having to pay money in taxes at the end of the year.
Additionally, I donate to more local causes occasionally (like your artist here) and to artists I enjoy. This doesn’t come with any tax refund usually, but sometimes artists will provide perks for it and at the very least I just know I am supporting someone I enjoy to continue creating things I enjoy.
I know you weren’t fully asking about this, but there are also non-monetary ways to donate that are excellent choices if you find yourself in a more difficult financial situation. You can donate your time (volunteer) as little as a couple of hours per month at local nonprofits/charities/whatever you want to support. You can donate blood or plasma. These are all nice ways to meet people and contribute to big changes in your community.
Good luck on your journey if you decide to continue donating! Don’t feel discouraged, even if others aren’t as generous as you, you’re still making a change in someone’s life.
I give to politicians I really believe in. Occasionally, I give to nonprofits I support. My biggest gripe about giving is getting put on some stupid mailing list, where they send you junk mail. If I could give without telling them my identity, I would be more likely.
I don’t give to politicians. The state gives them money to campaign. Over here giving money to politicians is considered to be highly dodgy.
Local community radio, monthly.
A little towards anything I read or listen to, not often but as I can I do.
Towards disasters if work is doing a fundraiser, we have a charity arm and I know where the money is going as I work in accounting.
Directly to people, again as I can. This is the biggest $ category probably. If I have cash I will give it, don’t think about trying to sort out who “deserves” it, that’s not something I can or will do. Will pick up an extra meal occasionally if there is a homeless person around. And have given space in my house occasionally, though at least once did not when I really should have, there is an occasion I regret not offering that to someones I know - I think it would have helped them get back on their feet much faster but I was worried for my safety (from my ex not the people who needed).
I don’t consider myself generous in light of what I have, but still digging out from being poor myself.
If I ever get expendable income, I might donate. But I don’t see that happening. I do buy some luxury stuff occasionally, because I just want to support the creator, like a calendar from Kurzgesagt or a book from Tibbees.
I am not sure but I am guessing in Germany we love cash and mostly do not donate via apps. As far as I am concerned, we donate via monthly bank transfers…
