Narrow Your Focus
Think back to your good ol' days of being a college student. It's possible that at some point you had to stop trying to be involved in everything and cherry pick the organizations or groups you wanted to be part of. By narrowing it down, you opened yourself up to gain more from your involvement.
Same goes with giving to charity. While there is no gift too small, there is a benefit to you and the organization by narrowing your focus, your time, and your resources. For some' it can be 3 charities, for others' it can be 10! The idea is to connect you and your gifts to charities that you feel passionate about.
Here are some tips to help you narrow your focus in 5 easy steps.
Step 1. Make a full list of every non-profit or program you are a part of or interested in. - Think...church, university, research foundations, youth programs, food banks, united way, salvation army, ect.
Step 2. Highlight those that if you had time, you would want to volunteer and/or serve in some capacity.
- Mentor, manual labor, boards, event planning, ect.
- University degree
- Activities you were in growing up
- Relative that was impacted by an illness
- A national emergency that impacted your community (fires, floods, tornadoes, ect)
- This 3rd party non-profit will provide you with ratings and background info. This will help you to understand what charities to trust with your investments and how to avoid scams. This can be especially helpful when national emergencies are underway and everyone is trying to reach out for help.
- Write all those that pass your research on Charity Navigator in a new list.
Step 5. This new list is your philanthropic identity. - These are the non-profits that you feel are worthy of your financial gifts, your time, and your voice. If your list is still too long, pick 3 that you can start with this year.
Author: Stephanie Buettner, Director of Development - Gallogly College of Engineering
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