Bookmark This Page

Delicious Google Bookmarks Stumbleupon Digg BlinkList Ma.gnolia Reddit Yahoo My Web

Planned Giving: How to Create a Budget for Charitable Donations

Although we often hear stories of large corporations making large contributions to charitable organizations, the truth is that 80% of charitable donations come from individuals just like you and me. Although it's easy to give a few dollars here and there when we have a little extra, more often than not, we need to plan ahead for our charitable giving.

Whether we give one time a year or on a recurring basis, we need to incorporate that amount into our regular budget. That will require advance planning, of course, but that is necessary to ensure that none of our previous commitments are left unattended. So, for example, if you prefer to give to charitable organizations during the Christmas holiday season, you'll just need to decide upon an amount and divide that amount by twelve. In this way, you'll be setting aside a specified amount each and every month and you won't feel the pinch so hard during the holidays.

Sometimes we're moved by television commercials or other avenues of solicitation that cause us to want to give a certain amount each month. While it's easy to get caught up in the spirit of giving, we must first assess our budget and see if we indeed are able to make that commitment. Sometimes we want to help so badly that we just assume we'll be able to find the money, however the last thing we want to do is to cause extra hardship by being unable to meet our commitments.

Unfortunately, unexpected financial hardships occur in everyone's life from time to time. That's why, for a myriad of reasons, we should be prepared to financially handle unexpected expenses. Every budget should have an amount that is set aside for savings, some of which should be allocated to an emergency fund. That way, when unexpected financial emergencies occur, we'll be ready to deal with them without having to take the money from another commitment.

Whether you're able to contribute $20, $100, or thousands of dollars per year to charitable organizations, the planning principle is the same. Decide ahead of time how much you're going to be able to contribute and budget an equal amount each month. It sounds simple enough, yet without budgeting for everything else, charitable giving is often the first thing to go when we need to find money for another need.

What if your budget is already stretched to the outer limits and there simply isn't anything left over for charitable giving, yet you feel compelled to find the money to give to others? That's an admirable attitude and it is just this kind of thinking that will open up doors behind which you'll find the means to give. How? Let me explain. Suppose you have budgeted $100 for groceries each week. Could you cut coupons or do without one item to bring that amount down to $95? If so, you could save that $5 each week and at the end of the year, you'd have $260 to contribute to a worthy cause. So you can see, how, even though there simply wasn't an extra $260 in your budget, it is possible to find a little extra without compromising your other commitments.

Another possibility you might consider when your budget is already bursting at the seams is the possibility of raising the money to contribute. Perhaps you could have a garage sale and earmark the proceeds for charity. Have you considered selling your unwanted items online? This "found" money could be earmarked for charity, either as a one-time gift or the amount could be divided into a monthly amount if you would rather contribute on a monthly basis.

It may take a little work and sacrifice, but almost anyone can find a little extra for a good cause.