Think about the kind of philanthropist you want to be in 2022 and then plan for it, says Holly Belkot, manager of strategic giving at GlobalGiving, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that supports other nonprofits by connecting them to donors and companies.
Planning doesn’t just apply to monetary donations or time spent volunteering. Say you care about climate change. Belkot suggests setting yourself a goal of learning something new about the effects of environmental damage in January, watching a documentary about deforestation in February and so on.
A small, regular donation can make a big impact
One powerful way to champion your favorite cause is through small, recurring donations.
“Recurring donations are the lifeblood of nonprofits,” says Soraya Alexander, chief operating officer at Classy, a digital fundraising platform for nonprofits based in San Diego, California. Alexander says the majority of one-time donors do not come back to support a nonprofit, and it’s a resource-intensive process for the organization to find new ones.
For millennials, she says, who are both passionate about sustained giving and already used to Netflix-style subscription payments, recurring donations are an easy way to make a big impact. “Ten dollars a month is going to have higher payoff for the organization and should make it easier for you to give a greater amount than you might normally feel comfortable with.”
