If you are a philanthropist, you probably have some reasons why you give to certain causes, organizations, or people. But have you ever thought about how your giving motivations can help you increase your impact? In this article, we will explore how you can leverage your giving motivations to make more informed, effective, and satisfying decisions about your philanthropy.
To leverage your giving motivations, the first step is to identify them. They are the personal values, beliefs, emotions, and goals that drive your philanthropic behavior. Giving motivations can vary from person to person or situation to situation. Examples of these motivations include altruism (giving because you care about others' well-being), reciprocity (giving to return a favor or build relationships), recognition (giving for social status or reputation), self-interest (giving for tax deductions, skills, or career advancement), and legacy (giving to leave a lasting mark). To figure out your own giving motivations, ask yourself questions such as what causes and issues you’re passionate about, what kind of impact you want to have, what benefits and costs come with giving for you and others, how you choose the recipients or organizations you give to, and how you communicate your giving.
Choosing a cause to donate to is deeply personal as well as a choice you should make rationally, based on data about how much good an organisation can do with your donations. Choosing to give to a fund made up of the most effective organisations in that field is a way for you to know you are supporting the top-rated charities at any given time, without changing your donations based on new recommendations. You can find funds to give to via Giving What We Can. Just like you would invest in a fund, the same concept can apply to philanthropy. It's a great idea to treat your charitable giving as an investment, because it is!
The next step to leverage your giving motivations is to align them with your values. Values are the core principles that guide your actions and judgments and reflect what is important and meaningful to you. Examples of values include justice, compassion, excellence, innovation, and community. To align your giving motivations with your values, ask yourself how they support or conflict with each other, how they differ from those of other donors or stakeholders, and how you balance them with other factors such as evidence, effectiveness, or urgency. Additionally, consider how your giving motivations and values align with the missions and values of the recipients or organizations you give to. By doing so, you can ensure that your giving decisions are in line with what matters most to you.
The final step to leverage your giving motivations is to optimize your giving strategies. Giving strategies are the methods, tools, and resources you use to plan, execute, and evaluate your philanthropy. These can include budgeting how much money you allocate for philanthropy, deciding on your giving frequency, selecting the mode and channel of giving, and evaluating the outcomes and impacts of your giving. To optimize these strategies, you can ask yourself questions such as how your giving strategies match your motivations and values, how they maximize your impact and satisfaction, how they compare to other donors or best practices, and how you can update them based on new information. Leveraging your giving motivations can increase your impact as a philanthropist while also enhancing your enjoyment, fulfillment, and learning from it. Hopefully this article has inspired you to reflect on how you can use them to improve your giving.
You do loads of research in your daily life - which restaurant should we choose for date night? When is the best time to visit Portugal? What features does a backpack need to be suitable for hiking? Do the same for giving charitably. You probably seek out the opinions of others you trust, like a blogger, a magazine, official rankings of some kind. You can do the same with philanthropy. Evaluators like GiveWell and Animal Charity Evaluators put thousands of hours of work into finding the best charities to donate to. Seek them out to support your decision making.
Have you considered setting up recurring donations? Like a subscription model, this allows you to set up a donation that is made automatically each month, so you don't have to think about it and spend time organising it frequently. It will exit your account just like your expenses and become a regular part of your budget. Check on the amount you have been paying each month after half a year to see if you might be comfortable donating more, or feel happy with the monthly amount but want to make an additional one-off donation.