Yesterday afternoon, I dropped off the gifts I had purchased for a mother and son who are spending the holidays in a women’s shelter. He’s not even three years old, and he’s already had a much rougher life than I. But at least this year, he’ll have a Little People fire truck and new set of ABC and counting board books.
I don’t share this story to toot my horn. Plenty of people do as much or more than that each year. And I’m guessing their motivation is the same is mine — it feels good to give.
At the same time my math brain loves some guidelines. I grew up Lutheran, and I was expected to tithe 10% of my allowance. It was a great practice to get into, but now that I’m not a tithing church-goer, I miss having a formula. How much giving is “enough”? How can I know if I’m pushing myself enough?
Last year, I came across Peter Singer, who developed a really wonderful set of formulas based on a variety of different incomes. I wrote about it last fall, and I thought I point you to it today — in case you didn’t see it or need a reminder.
No matter what holiday you celebrate in December, the month has traditionally marked a time for charitable giving. The weather is growing colder in some areas, making it much tougher on the homeless. The end of the year is creeping up, and with it the deadline for tax exemptions for charitable giving. And holiday cheer often means counting our blessings and remembering those who are less fortunate.
Yes, December is the time for giving. But how much is enough? And what is too much? As we attempt to balance our own needs (especially in these difficult economic times), many of us struggle with our own sense of guilt and generosity. Read the rest of this post.
Do you have a formula for developing your yearly contributions? Share it — or your thoughts about using math to make charitable giving decisions — in a comment.
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