3 minute money tip - 5 steps to informed giving podcast by Janine Bolon

5 Steps to Informed Giving3 min read

Janine Bolon: Welcome to today’s three-minute money tip. I am Janine Bolon. And today, we’re going to be talking about philanthropic giving, with philanthropy or giving money to Charities. There’s multiple ways that you can give of time, property , assets, but we’re going to be speaking about cash. And I’d like to talk about the five tips that you can go through, that will help you in this process.

Janine Bolon: The first one is, you want to be proactive in your giving. You want to pull together a list of your philanthropic priorities. What are the things that you are passionate about? And what are the organizations that are doing good work, that you want to give your cash to? I mean, you’ve worked hard for it. But sometimes, you want to volunteer or helping. You just don’t have the time, and so you give cash. The second tip is research before giving. You want to make sure that the organization you’re giving to is a 501 c 3. This is the tax code that gives them benefits, as well as you, as the philanthropic giver that you are. You want to examine the charities’ finances. If your charity is not holding itself accountable through third-party accounting, and is very transparent, then I would question that particular charity. I have find out some more details about them. The third tip is to discuss the results and the impact with the organizers of that charity. What are the accomplishments that they’ve had? What are their goals? And what are the current challenges that they’re going through?

Janine Bolon: Many Charities are just like, I do, we just need cash. But they’re also very clear on what the project is, that the money is going to, and what their goals are. They usually have mission statements. If a charity does not have a mission statement, I would back up the truck, so to speak, and say, wait a minute. Because if they don’t know what they’re doing, with the money, this is a problem, right? They need to be very clear and very transparent on their finances. The fourth tip is considered the way you want to give. I highly recommend unrestricted donations. But, if you’re just learning how to give to Charities, then start off with monthly contributions that are fairly small, until you get to know the organization a little bit better, and then you can start giving larger and larger amounts.

Janine Boland: The most important thing that I like to recommend to people though is step five; which is follow your investment. After you’ve started giving for about six months, contact the charity, find out how they’re using their money, find out what progress reports they have, and ask for their annual report. These are some basic tips that I give to you because as you become more financially stable, it’s wonderful to be able to reach back to people that you know, that have helped you.

Janine Bolon: I’ve had several times in my own life where I’ve given to organizations, because they have assisted me when I was not as financially stable as I am now. So there are some ways that you can give of your money when you are unable to give of time, and also this is a way to give back to the communities that have given you assistance along the way.

Janine Bolon: If I can be of any assistance, please feel free to reach out to me through my contact form on financial First Response.com. And I also recommend that if you’re looking for assistance with charitable giving, that you go to this wonderful nonprofit organization called charity Navigator dot-org. They will be glad to help you understand some of the situations that are best for you as a philanthropist.

Janine Bolon: Have a great day.

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