Out of sight, out of mind?
There are two schools of thought on this. I wrote about the Tony Robbins version in my post above. Basically it says you need to start giving now, when you don’t have much yourself, so it becomes a habit. If you wait there will always be an excuse not to give.
The other school of thought is the Warren Buffett one: concentrate on accumulating wealth and then give it away later. He is a big part of the Giving Pledge.
In Buffett’s case, it probably does make more sense for him to use his investing skills to increase the money as much as possible before giving it away. I have no such skills, so I think choosing good charities and helping them as much as I can is the better path.
As part of my ‘give automatically’ plan, I am going to double my charitable contributions from this month. Much like investing, this automatic giving happens month in, month out, and after a while you don’t even notice it anymore.
How about you? Do you give to charity? Is it something regular or just when you remember?
Out of curiosity, what charities do you donate to? Are they Japan specific?
I’d be more of the “Warren Buffet” school of thoughts I guess: I help myself first in a way that giving away later will not even be a problem. But you’re right, it means that could just be an excuse now, and I’ll find another excuse later…
I do donate to the red cross regularly though, mostly because they are one of the few who accept paypal.
Hi SB
I give to four charities (links in the December post): a hospice in the UK, Amnesty International UK, charity: water, and In Search of Sanuk (a small group in Thailand that helps refugees).
Unfortunately we give only irregularly, which is something I need to address. Thanks for reminding me!
But just today we made a payment to the UNICEF Nepal Earthquake fund, and I thought I’d briefly share how we did this in case other school owners are interested. Basically, we ask our elementary-to-high-school students to study English at home for a set period (this time 4 weeks) over and above the regular homework we give them. This extra study can be notebook writing, reading books from the library, or using our online practice software. We award them points each week as best we can for their extra work, then total the points at the end of the period and convert it to money (e.g. 1 point = 3 yen). We then pay the money from our side; the students don’t pay anything.
Of course we tell them and their parents why they are doing this, and update them regularly with the current points and final amount at the end. We also mention the high-point earners, which serves as a minor reward for them.
Personally I think it’s a win-win situation: for our students, our school, us, and the children of Nepal. I’m now thinking that we should make it a regular event, based on Ben’s post, rather than something that only happens after a disaster.
@northSaver, this is a great initiative!
Slightly off topic but I found out about this site the other day and I am thinking about using it. Charitable donations are 100% tax deductible ( minus the first ¥2000) you give money, they give you a gift and then you claim the money back. http://www.furusato-tax.jp
That is a fantastic idea NS! Great publicity for the school, good motivation for students and teachers -and all for a good cause. Might have to steal that one 😉
Hi Claire
I saw that one too. Looks interesting, and some of the gifts are quite nice! Worth checking out 🙂
Research shows that–generally speaking–the richer you are the smaller the percentage of income you tend to give to charitable causes. Maybe this suggests that, with the exception of Warren Buffet, most people won’t give as much if they start later. (Or it could mean that those who give more end up never becoming wealthy.)
That wouldn’t surprise me, Ryan. I find I really don’t think about it unless I make a deliberate effort -hence the automation and the semi-regular increases.
I’d like to end up giving away 10% or so eventually, but I am not anywhere near that now.