To ask how much you give to charity?

[Wibblewobble100]

A TAAT - sorry! Reading the go fund me thread and wondering if I'm really stingy. I give about £200 a year to charity.... £10 month to oxfam, occasional sponsorship / just giving (maybe once every 2-3 months), and if there's a big DEC campaign eg Ebola, Haiti. Other than that it's the occasional coppers in a collection box. I don't generally give to beggars, buy the big issue, give to people collecting in the street or door to door, and I've never received a go fund me request but wouldn't give unless I knew someone really well and was convinced it was 100% genuine. I avoid all telethons (children in need, comic relief etc )like the plague. Am I stingy, how much do you give?

[Leavingsosoon]

I used to give monthly to Born Free, Amnesty, BHF and WWF but have stopped for now - I just can't afford it.

[laffymeal]

Roughly £20 a month through 4 direct debits for a £5 each. About £10 a month through work related collections for MacMillan and such. I participate in greyhound charities once a month and usually spend a tenner on greyhound related shite whilst there...blimey, this is mounting up!

Looking like between £40 and £50 a month then. Some people suggest 10% of your salary but I think that's a bit excessive.

[laffymeal]

...oh, and if you can't afford it, as always "charity begins at home". I would cancel the direct debits in a heartbeat if I was struggling.

[PurpleDaisies]

We give £100 a month via direct debits split between three charities. I'll sponsor people/donate to campaigns as we depending on what comes up. This year that's probably added up to another £250 ish.

I wouldn't compare with others though, it depends how much you have to spare and whether or not there are things you feel passionate about supporting.

[LucyMouse]

We are Christians and choose to give 10% of our income (after tax) to charity. The money is split between the church we attend and some other charities. To us it is all God's money anyway.

[hedgehogsdontbite]

I mostly give my time. Currently a member of The Red Cross.

[WheresMyBurrito]

I give less than you, OP. Don't worry!

[redredread]

I give 10% of my salary - my parents always did so and I've done it since I started earning. I don't really see that money as mine if that makes sense - it just goes out by direct debit when I get paid. Because of gift aid, I also like the fact that it gives me a choice about where 10% of my taxes go.

[DonkeyOaty]

£15 pm by dd to local wildlife trust. As and when for others. Money tight for lots of us.

[LeaLeander]

I give about 5 percent of my income (it just works out that way, i don't do religious tithing or anything like that) mostly via once-a-year lump sums in December to women's aid groups, animal welfare charities, doctors without borders, a rainforest protection group, our public broadcasting system (in gratitude for it bringing all those great British programs to the US tv viewers) and a few others. And should be giving more as I've been fortunate in recent years.

I do send $100 a month to an elephant rescue group in India and am grateful for the opportunity to help them. That is my only routine donation. And I did just send money to a group that does cataract surgery in Nepal, allowing blind people to see -- there was just a big article in the New York Times about it. Stunning. For a mere $50 a person's sight can be restored. Elderly woman quoted saying she went from crawling everywhere due to blindness, to being able to walk upright. It's hard to believe we all live on the same planet sometimes, our lives and fortunes are so different.

I am stingy when it comes to people whose misfortune is self-inflicted, though, like those who want help with heavy consumer debt, or who had more children than they can afford or who just want a vacation or whatever. Don't we all.

[Wibblewobble100]

10% of your salary!!! Wow I am definitely stingy then!

[Happydappy99]

I give 10% of my income split between my church and a couple of other Christian charities.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

I give quite a lot £100+ per month but I have a high income, so %wise I am probably somewhere in the average range for giving. I don't think absolute cash amounts matter, it's the proportion of your disposable income that is a fairer comparison.

[Leavingsosoon]

Wibble, it's not stingy - some Christians do.

[Whoami24601]

One of my favourite bible stories is about the poor old woman who gives a small amount to charity, and some rich men who give a lot. Jesus says the old woman gives more, as she gives everything she has, whereas th rich only give what they can afford to spare. It's not how much you give that's important imo

[CatMilkMan]

A percentage of my salary after tax and money from any charitable trusts I have.

[BreakfastAtStephanies]

I give the same amount as you OP, just over £ 200 per year split between 4 charities. Absolutely no way will I give 10 % of my income, that's way too much and I see too much waste of the funds that charities get anyway so remain unconvinced that they get put to the best use. I may be thought of as mean but am loyal to my charities and happy with the amount I give as should you be. After all that's £ 200 more than nothing.

[MrsHathaway]

Tbh I'm not exactly sure.

We put a couple of things in the food bank box each week, which probably adds up to a couple of hundred pounds a year.

DC charity things at school probably another hundred a year.

DEC etc 50-100 maybe, depending on number of crises ;)

Most of our charitable giving tends to be donations of other kinds. I volunteer around 4-5 hours a week, and we give a lot to charity shops (we get a tax form from our main recipient as it's tax deductible so we see the totals) and our local refuge (we give them the freebies DH gets through work).

It's probably around 1% of our gross household income in total. Which sounds pretty pathetic compared with ideas of tithing

[Wibblewobble100]

Is that what tithing is? I've never heard the phrase before?
Seriously though, I can afford to give more, I might have a find a few worthwhile causes?? (That's not an invitation btw)

[Leavingsosoon]

Tithing is 10% of your income.

[Welshwabbit]

Having just done my accounts, I think it's about 7% of my post-tax income. As I'm self-employed, the % goes up and down year on year because my direct debits stay constant. It's mainly direct debits but I do some one off giving during the year too in response to sponsorship requests or disasters.

[MrsBertMacklin]

10% of my free money, i.e. the money I have left in my account after my mortgage and other fixed outgoings come out.

Refuge, Mind, Shelter, Red Cross & Amnesty.

Probably about £150 throughout the year on sponsored events and £20 or so to the poppy appeal.

And I will try to pay something towards any humanitarian crisis appeals.

[Osolea]

If you're thinking this much about the amount you give, then I doubt you're stingy. You obviously care about your contribution however big it is and that's a good thing.