Since giving charity and making donations to help the needy in our community is a religious obligation, let’s take a look at some effective tips that would make easier for you to fulfil this responsibility.

1. Give what you can

Unless you’re financially insecure, you should at least start giving something.

Getting into the habit of giving will change who you are as a person. You will become ‘someone who gives money to charity’ and will start to experience the joy and satisfaction that you get when you know that you’re helping others with your money.

2. Give effectively

It’s not just how much you give, but also how effectively you give that matters. This is because the differences between charities and their impact can be astonishing.

A $1 donation to a highly effective charity is going to be worth tens, hundreds, or thousands of times more than the same donation to an average charity… and worth infinitely more than a donation to a charity that accidentally does harm.

If you make your donations via Giving Fridays, you can be rest assured that your money is going into the right hands.

3. Give publicly

Another way to multiply your impact is to influence others through social proof. This is the well-established psychological phenomenon entailing that people tend to do what they see others doing. Because as humans, we are incredibly social animals.

If everyone kept their giving private, most people would think that giving isn’t normal. On the other hand, giving publicly can influence others to follow your behaviour.

4. Give sustainably

Take the view of giving over your lifetime. Ask yourself ‘what will be sustainable? because you don’t want to end up like George Price, and you don’t want to give too much, too soon if it causes you to burn out and stop giving.

Take the time to plan your giving. Think carefully about how much you want to give and how you are going to do it.

5. Give regularly

You should also give regularly. Acts that are performed consistently, even if small, can make a greater positive impact on the community. Regular donors are often more generous, and therefore more likely to have a bigger impact.

Giving habitually means you are more likely to continue, less likely to skip donations, and you can budget your giving much better.

Regular giving also helps the recipient charity to operate more efficiently since they will receive more predictable revenue, and also spend less on fundraising.

6. Give together

Finally, share the joy of giving with other people. This will not only help establish norms around giving, but it can help you make better decisions, and you will have people to share this meaningful part of your life with.

Involving your family with your giving is a great way of building a family culture of care, generosity and critical thinking. Involving your friends and colleagues can be a great activity to bond over.