7 Ways You Can Make A Donation To Charity

Charity dates back to ancient civilization around 4500 BC. A tax order was placed by Ancient Hebrews to help the poor. The spirit of giving and helping the poor has since been deeply ingrained in society since then. Charities are organizations that are set up to help and raise money for people in need. It is a generous and helpful gesture towards the poor and suffering in our society.  Hospital of St Cross in Winchester was one of the earliest charities founded by Bishop Henry de Blois, the grandson of William the Conqueror in 1136. The word charity comes from Old English which means “christian love of one’s fellow”. Aside from the original meaning, charity has always been linked to christianity. Over the years the meaning of the charity has changed or evolved from “christian love” to “being generous and giving”.

Charity is the practice of voluntary giving of help, as a humanitarian act, unmotivated by self-interest. 

Most charities and organizations are associated with religion. 

7 Ways To Make A Donation To Charity

1. Writing A Check 

Writing checks is still one of the  most common forms of philanthropy in the world. People mostly prefer writing a check especially if the amount is relatively a lot. In today’s day and age people might not even find they’re checkbooks. Check writing is considered a traditional method of giving charity and is still used quite prominently. Many charities depend on check philanthropy, most organizations use checks for operational costs and initiative funding.  

2. Helping An Online Charity 

Online donations are the fastest growing method of charity. Donors of modest means mostly use online platforms to donate to charity but like the saying goes every drop makes an ocean. So every donation big or small  makes a difference. Online donations are also known as crowdfunding. With the world advancing at the rate that it is many people of the younger generation prefer donating online. 

3. Donor-Advised-Charity

Donor advised charities are charitable accounts, offered by sponsoring organizations. This is a simple, less expensive method and an alternative to setting up a foundation. The sponsoring institution manages your money and then you can choose which cause receives your donation. There is no limit or no starting amount when it comes to donor-advised-charity. The institution invests the money and the donor makes grants from that asset to whoever they want. The sponsoring organization also helps in picking a charity to donate to by doing the research for you. There are a lot of pros to donor-advised-charity. They provide easy donations and also a possible charitable tax deduction. 

4. Setting Up A Foundation

Some high net worth donors and families set up private family foundations for charitable activities. There are some very well-known foundations like the Rockefeller foundation. There are about eight thousand private foundations that are unstaffed and have less than 1 million dollars in assets. There are a lot of rules surrounding private foundations set up by the IRS, that they have to give a certain percentage of the assets each year. Even if the foundation is small there are a lot of details that you’ll have to chalk out with your legal team and a financial advisor, to help research charities and handle the finances. Setting up a charitable foundation is the only way to be sure that your charitable contribution matches your values and interests.  

5. Giving Circle 

If you’ve ever been a part of a book club, then you have a basic idea of a giving circle. A giving circle is a part of participatory philanthropy where a group of people donate their money or time to a pooled fund, and together they decide whether to give it to a charity or a community project. Many giving circles donate their time to support a local cause. There are two sides to giving circles which are informal and formal circles. Informal circles are where the people in the circle vote and choose a charity or organization to donate to and each member writes an individual check. In a formal circle all the money is pooled at a local community foundation and hired staff to support the work of the community circle. 

6. Donating Your Car, Food Or Clothes 

Donating your clothes to orphanages and old age homes through various organizations. Churches have a white sunday event during christmas where people bring in old clothes and appliances to donate to a charity of the church’s choosing. Even if it is just to get rid of your old things, it helps someone who might need it. 

7. Volunteer

It’s essential to decide what cause you want to volunteer for and which organization you want to work with. Research all organizations with the help of a watch group and check if they’re goals match your goals.  After finding out everything you can about the organization, decide how much time and energy you can dedicate to the cause. Once you’ve thought everything through, volunteer at an organization of your choosing and stick to your commitment. 

At the end of the day charity helps the poor but also gives you a sense of happiness of giving and helping out someone who isn’t as fortunate to have the life or the resources you have. 

Sakal relief fund is built on a simple idea of building a better future and believing to help with it. They work with local leaders to help building community organizations, prioritizing goals and recruiting government partners from private sector and non-profit organizations. They help identify the source of funding, network opportunities and support the development of sustainable programs. For more information you can log onto the organzation’s website.