4 Reasons to Become a Generous Giver

January 4, 2008 By Matthew Paulson

The United States as a whole is one of the most generous in the world, not because of large corporate checks or government sponsored aid, but rather because individuals take some of their hard earned money and contribute it to a worthy cause, whether it be helping those in need, working to cure a disease or promoting awareness about an issue. In 2006, Americans gave $295 billion in donations to churches and other non-profit organizations, and that number just keeps going up. If your heart hasn’t been stirred to give a significant chunk of money to a non-profit organization that interests you yet, consider these four reasons why it makes sense to become a generous giver.

The Joy of Giving – A lot of people will never appreciate what their money goes to until they see their charitable donations changing lives, whether it being seeing a 16 year old girl with a single mother getting a Christmas present for the first time in her life, a needy child getting a book-bag full of classroom supplies just before the first day of school, or someone receiving much needed medical care they would not have otherwise received. Once you see people truly affected by your gift, you’ll find an indescribable joy!

A Tax Deduction – You shouldn’t start writing checks just because you get a lower tax bill at the end of the year, but it’s another reason to give. Nobody likes to give money to the IRS each year, and being a generous giver will lower that bill each year. You can claim donations made to charities as a 501(c) as tax deductions. This means that if your tax-rate is 25% and you donate $1,000, you’ll have to pay $250 less in taxes each year.

Doing Good in the World – Remember what we’re doing here. We’re donating money to an organization that will work to help those in need. It doesn’t even need to be to an organization in need, you can just help someone where you see a serious need in their lives. There are a lot of situations that people find themselves through no fault of their own where they just need a bit of help. By us being charitable and helping our neighbors in need, we help them and eliminate the need for any inefficient centralized government programs to deal with those types of issues.

Giving Helps You Simplify – There are charitable organizations such as Good Will that will take your unwanted possessions, sell them and use the profits to help fund charitable causes. There are also organizations that will take used vehicles, used computers and the like and put them to good use for you. You could also hold your own charity garage sale to get rid of stuff as well. Giving is a great way to simplify your life and get rid of some of your extra material possessions that you really don’t want or need.

A lot of people who don’t give (I used to be one of them), did so because they wanted to keep their money and get ahead in the world and giving away one’s money doesn’t make their wealth accumulate in the slightest. If this sounds like you, find a charity you like, go down and visit it and write a check. Give giving a chance, you just might like it.

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