Just as you plan for other things in your life, you’ll be much more effective in both helping charities advance their important work of serving the community and in maximizing the tax advantages when you plan ahead.

Planning a budget also helps you say “No” to charities that you are unfamiliar with. Realistically, no one can support everything. You’ll be less apt to respond to pressure if your giving plan concentrates only on causes that you find important to you.  

• First step is to review your giving priorities. Name the top issues that match your values and interests. You might think of this as your unique personal giving statement. It has to do with personal experience, the values you hold dear, the people and issues you care about.  
• Next step is to determine how much of your income and assets you want to use for “social investment,” or charitable giving. Divide that amount between your priority areas in a sensible manner that reflects the weight of each priority area…but it’s also wise to allocate some for “unexpected.” Recent events have reminded us that unexpected disasters do happen. And they move us to want to help the victims of those disasters.         
• Now find charities that effectively work toward the priority areas you’ve identified. You may know some already—particularly if you’ve supported and followed their activities in the past. The online Giving Guide can help you search for charities within various categories. You can then read about their missions and programs. If they’ve voluntarily participated in a Charities Review Council review, there is an abundance of information about them. You can also request that they participate in a review as a registered Smart Giver.

Once you’ve identified the charities you want to support, it’s an easy task to determine the amount of gifts to each that will fit your charitable giving budget. Like anything else in life, plans sometimes need to be adjusted as the year progresses. But in just a few easy steps, you’ve set up a structure for your giving that will make it effective and satisfying.

Start the New Year by creating your annual giving budget. Make an informed giving decision that fits your resources. Even small donations – given over a year or a lifetime – really do add up.