To ask how much you give to charity?

[poshme]

Not TAAT but in response to the disposable income thread.

How much money (either amount or percentage of income) do you regularly give to charity?

There a quite a lot of people who seem to have lots of disposable income, and it made me realise that I give to charity, and hadn't thought of it as part of my 'disposable income' though it is. I was wondering if people give much away?

As a couple we give to charity about 8% of our after tax income.

Very little these days. I just can’t afford it. I do give all our old clothes etc to charity rather than trying to sell them on eBay though.

I support several charities at different amounts, annual total roughly £1,500.

I give £10 per month, £5 to each of two conservation charities. I tend to take expensive stuff to the charity shop, rather than selling it. It saves the stress of selling and I see it as a charity donation, so it's win win.

About 5% of my post-tax pay. Same for DH. I used to do lots of volunteer work pre-kids (role prob similar value to my hourly pay) but I do much less of that now.

I give to a small range of international charities that seem efficient and work on things I care about. Obviously, a bit of it will get wasted because money gets wasted in all organisations - it’s not like the weekly supermarket bill is free of waste or misuse at the other end either! I don’t however give to tiny local charities which seem to have lots of overheads, or eg donkey sanctuaries etc.

A fixed amount by standing order, which has in the past gone up when I got a pay rise. I make sure I gift aid it. Some more for as and when asked. (sales of work, sponsoring people etc.)
If someone asks me to sign up for monthly giving for a charity I ask them first why I should lower the amount I give to the charity I have choses to support, since the budget is the budget. So far no credible answer has been forthcoming. It's about 5% of my monthly net income.

Maybe about £50 per year to Sally Army.
I save coppers, pay into my bank, then withdraw notes to put in the collection box, in own.

£40 a month to water aid
£20 a month to save the children
£2 a week to the zoo- my kids love dropping coins into the charity spinning collection points at the zoo

£150 at Christmas- past 2 years have been to a charity to help Syrian refugee children

Oh and about £10 worth of food a week into a good bank collection when I do the weekly shop

Aside from donating goods to charity shops and giving things away on free sites, we donate about £50 a month. Some are regular payments to things such as a local hen rescue to offset the fact we eat eggs, others are donated to local hospices or when a friend might be doing a sponsored event.

We do buy lottery tickets but I wouldn't count that as it mainly for our own gain. Also wouldn't count private school or health care, you aren't doing that for charity, you are doing that because you can afford to give your children privilege and to jump the nhs queues.

I feel like a bad person. I have a lot of friends who do sponsored runs so I choose one a year to sponsor £20. I give maybe £10 a year to the Great North Air Ambulance and £10 to the poppy appeal.

Not really ever added it up. We have a few set charities we support, use Amazon Smile, volunteer a lot of hours and do extra at Christmas for our main charity. All are small charities ran by volunteers only so everything donated helps the cause rather than just wage bills.

I donate to the food bank once a week when I do a supermarket shop.

I donate £20 a month to a local dementia charity who supported my mum through her illness.

I have made several donations to a local charity who help bereaved parents who have lost a child in tragic circumstances. Dh now sponsors this charity through his business. I also fundraise and volunteer with them. This charity helped me so much when my dd died without their help I don't think I would be here today.

£20 per month by direct debit transfer to a chosen charity (so £240 pa) and then throughout the year I'd say we donate a further £200 - £250 to various charities. Quite a bit is through sponsorship for friends and family raising money for various charities. The rest crop up when I come across a good cause and randomly donate. So £500 approx per year.

Probably about £30 per month as a family. Try to sponsor friends when they do races etc for charitable causes too. And give a lot of things away to charity shops or clothing banks rather than selling. We don’t have much spare cash.

We give time. DH 6 hours per week and me 2 hours per week volunteering. Plus I put £10/week into the church collection.

Besides playing the lottery, we spend quite a lot in charity shops when we're in the UK (DVDs, books mostly) and drop in a little change when I browse but there's nothing I want to buy.

I don't let anyone charity have my bank details, so it has to be one-off donations.

I dont give to any big charities anymore, I worked for a not for profit organisation, and the CEO had a chauffer and was on over 100,000 a year, whilst the staff struggled on NMW and the clients had to request access to their own money for essential items such as clothes, furnishings etc & had a very poor food budget. What also put me off was charities like mencap requesting donations constantly but again- similar situation, CEO on ridiculous money, yet they went to court 3 times to stop their care workers getting NMW for sleep in shifts.

I'd rather donate to small local charities now, local food banks etc.

I actually do know this as I needed it for my tax assessment this year. I've given £550 since the start of 2020. I have a direct debit to our local food bank for £50, a DD to Great Ormond Street and I do a bit ad hoc. Year before was less as I was on maternity but still kept my direct debits I think.

I also give free marketing advice when businesses need it.

Not as much as I should but I give a lot of my time. I volunteer (in normal times) 2 hours a week with GG (plus prep) and 2 hours a week with the local community garden. I also go every evening and check on the garden/water but that only takes 10 minutes each evening.

I also have been volunteering during covid dealing with shielding and vulnerable people's requests in the local area 2-4 hours a week.

Also a £1 from my paycheck goes to the companies charity fund and then we pick who it goes to.

Also put money in the plate at church (but obviously haven't been in a while).

Lastly always donate to the Christmas Child's gift drive/Easter eggs etc.

Some direct debits to children's charities. No need to say how much.

And I lent £50 to a cobbler in Pakistan that makes shoes for kids.

If you're interested look at lend with care.

After a few delays due to covid ect repayments of a few quid per month are coming back.
When it's paid back I'll lend it out again.

I donate 25 a month to Women for Women which helps women in warzones become more independent and teaches them skills to make money. Plus I have 25 on kiva which is a microloan charity so eventually the money comes back to me. Its been to 4 different women so far, helping small businesses.

Also donate to charity shops

Charity shops are overflowing with too many goods right now. I donate to them, too, but right now I would rate that activity as more beneficial to me (I hate waste) than to them. My local freecycle group is almost moribund, they fully shut down during Lockdown.

Charities like food bank have all sorts of direct expenses, they need cash for fuel, vehicle maintenance, rent, electricity, security, equipment like computers that manage their stock & volunteer rota, the occasional employed staff person, etc.

@shesaidshesleavingonasunday

Too many charities waste far too much money

What do you consider wasted money? Genuine question.

That shitload of plastic bags I get through mailbox...

@shesaidshesleavingonasunday

I work for a charity and I would honestly love to know what people think charities are "wasting money" on.

Same here. If the charity I work for didn't receive voluntary donations, local disabled people wouldn't have access to social clubs, it courses, supported time at an allotment, support to attend medical appointments (including understanding medic advice and following through), help in filling in forms, advice to access specialist schools and so much more. Thank goodness some people trust us, or have researched thoroughly and understand how our income is spent.

I'm very loathe to get involved with any direct debits to charities given how many will call and pester you to increase your donation and use chuggers. I'm happy to make one off anonymous donations or give some cash to the Salvation Army or Army charities who tend to stand and behave with dignity rather than rattling tins at you.