**When I sat down to write about this topic, I thought this would be a quick little post. It turns out this stuff is more complicated than I anticipated so I’m breaking it into a series of 3 separate posts. The final post will have a little geeky gift from me to you.**
Every time we turn around, we’re bombarded with requests to give of our time, talents and resources. Whether it’s rounding up at your grocery story checkout counter, your niece’s school fundraiser, your church, the office holiday gathering, the homeless person at the corner or your favorite charity, there’s no shortage of opportunities to give, give, give. What’s a generous person to do? Many of us have a personal identity associated closely with the word “generosity” or “socially conscious”, so saying “no” can bring about feelings of guilt.
Seth Godin’s Fear of Philanthropy post suggested that philanthropy is hard to market because there’s seemingly no end. He warned that without a framework for giving, without telling people how much is enough, overwhelm results.
With all of this in mind, it strikes me that I need to establish my own framework for personal giving so that I can be confident in knowing that I have some parameters for my personal giving and volunteering. So that I can answer the question, “How much is enough?” for myself. This is obviously a very personal decision, so over the next few days I’ll share the things that I’m keeping in mind (I’d love to hear yours):
Focus Areas
Which types of charities resonate most with who you are? Here’s a decent list of categories. For me personally, organizations that support women entrepreneurs and basic needs for children are top of my list. But I also give to my church and my children’s school.
Having a focus area doesn’t mean you’ll never give to other types of charities, it just helps in prioritizing volunteer time and financial giving. What are yours?
Volunteering
How much time a week, month or quarter is reasonable to commit to volunteering? I tend to set my goals per volunteer opportunity (whether it’s 3 hours or 1) but I’m rethinking this. And for me, there are two categories of volunteering: direct and indirect service.
Indirect service to me means working behind the scenes to make the engine run, whether serving on a board or packing boxes of food that will go to families in need.
While there is tremendous value in being a board member or working in a warehouse, it’s also important for me to work directly with people because it always gives me a different perspective on life and a unique human connection. If your focus area is the environment, this may mean planting trees or cleaning up a wilderness area. If your focus area is animals, this may mean volunteering at a shelter to walk dogs.
I’m including both indirect and direct service in my volunteer goals, but considering each of them as distinct goals.
Involving Family
Another consideration is involving my two children, ages 6 and 8, in volunteering and including them in setting appropriate goals. For them, “experimentation” is the name of the game; I want them to explore as many focus areas as they can.
How do you gauge your volunteer efforts and time spent volunteering? Do you volunteer at all? Let us know in the comments section below.
Continue on to Read Part II: Being Intentional with Your Money
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Image credit to Johann Richard.
Megan,
Excellent post with excellent questions.
The act of giving is in fact a gift to oneself. People give to make themselves feel good. Selfish? Yes. Selfless? No.
Giving is personal and it starts with you. Your values, your feelings, your place in the world. Giving must have purpose and it must connect.
People can give in two ways: monetarily (philanthropy) or service (volunteering). For those who do not have the time to volunteer make charitable donations, and those who do not have the extra cash volunteer their services.
In order to appreciate the value of giving I think you need to mix it up with both philanthropy giving and volunteering.
When writing a check to a charity you hope the donation will be used for its intended purpose (best donors are the ones who are most knowledgeable). The feeling of “I’m making a difference” lasts as long as it takes to write the check or making a donation online.
The giving spirit of volunteering lasts a little longer. Depending on the task, the connections with the project, and the appreciation from the recipients and organization, can fill your giving needs for days.
The question is what fulfills your heart and soul when giving? How much time, energy, money will it require of you?
I agree with Seth, to some degree, that there is no end to philanthropy because there will always be a need — especially, during tough economic times. Nonprofits have no bottom line because they are subjective with no easily recognizable measure of success. BUT, that doesn’t mean we sit back and watch humanity deteriorate.
I stand by my personal mission statement “You are defined by what you give.” It doesn’t matter what car you drive, if you have an iPad or not, or even your state of health and wealth. Think about it. How will you be remembered if you died? What legacy will you leave behind?
Just recently I’ve added a second part to my statement — “give and your life will be defined.” So true.
Thanks Megan for starting this conversation about personal giving. I’m looking forward to reading the rest.
Noland Hoshino
Thanks for the fantastic and thoughtful comments, Noland!
I very much appreciate your personal input because I know just how much of your life is spent in service to others, both informally and through organized volunteering.
Do you have a specific volunteer “goal” for yourself? It seems to be “volunteer every hour of the day when I’m not working, writing or reading”! You’re an inspiration to us all.
I love the fact that you have a personal mission statement to begin with and am so impressed with your personal philosophy.
Glad to know you, Noland, thanks again for weighing in!