DONOR fatigue – have you ever heard of this? Essentially it is when we cease giving to charity because it’s all too overwhelming. There could be many reasons for this dynamic. As I write this, I’m in Kenya doing some charity work. And as some Adviser readers would know, I’m also heavily involved with our own local charity – Shepparton Foodshare. All of this has me thinking…
Firstly, I’ve learnt something in regards to charities; our local community is very generous. We just had a very successful fundraising evening for the Foodshare recently, which showed afresh just how generous some can be. With this in mind, I’m guessing many readers give to charity but may be a little confused or concerned about who they should give to with so many options out there. Here’s some rules of thumb that I believe can help:
-Choose charities that have minimised administration and marketing costs, ie the ones that ensure the highest percentage of your giving ends up helping most in need. Some charities have a ridiculous percentage of giving going towards costs, not end recipients. You can check these figures as they are freely available upon request or investigation.
-Choose charities that align with your own values system. It’s great to give to a cause that you are personally passionate about.
Remember many charities are tax deductible (especially important at this time of year with the End of Financial Year on our doorstep), so giving to them results in you paying less tax.
-Think local – some charities are achieving at local level amazing results right here in GV, while other charities are working in the same field however giving to them will not result in anywhere near as much benefit to our locals. For example, giving to Shepparton Foodshare will ensure people are fed right here in Greater Shepparton. National Food relief charities are not able to cover locals with the same effectiveness.
-Think about tomorrow/the long term, not just about today. Is the charity empowering those they are helping to no longer need help in the future?
-Ask yourself can I volunteer for a charity? Not everyone has enough cash to make donations, but there are other ways of helping beyond just giving money.
For Christians – helping those less fortunate than ourselves is non-negotiable – Charity Scriptures abound, and I know this is something very meaningful to myself and many of the thousands of Christians in our local community. People can be quite sceptical about religion, and I hate to say, sometimes justifiably. But perhaps if more adhered to the bible’s definition of real religion, we wouldn’t need to be anywhere near as cynical: “Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight” (James 1:27 Msg version).
For more information on local churches go to www.sheppartonchurches.org.au
