Charity donations

[Smarshian]

How much do you donate to charity monthly as a percentage of your disposable income?

We have recently become significantly better off than previously, so want to start making more regular donation to charity. Currently donate around £20 a month with was around 10% of previous disposable income (after food/bills/savings).

I give 10% of my gross income to charity (so before tax or any expenses) but I am very lucky to be at a stage in my life where I can afford to do so, I certainly didn't always do that. I have always tried to give whatever I can afford. 10% is a figure often used as a benchmark although people vary as to whether they do what I do (10% of gross), 10% of their net income after tax and other salary deductions like pensions or 10% of disposable income. I think it should be a personal decision as to what feels right to you! I'd recommend looking at the website 'giving what we can' for more information and inspiration.

I do also have a bit of an unpopular opinion (on MN anyway) that it's almost as important to look at what/which charities you are giving the money to as how much you give. A lot of people subscribe to the view that you shouldn't give money to large/national charities because 'they'll just spend the money on executive salaries/fancy London offices/TV marketing campaigns' etc., but this view ignores the fact that small, local charities (which are often given as alternatives) can also be unbelievably inefficient as ways of doing good. Obviously which charities are 'good' to give to depends entirely on your personal definition of what it is to do 'good' but I do think everyone should do their research and not just give mindlessly to charities which strike a personal chord or 'feel' nice, personally I prefer to prioritise those charities which most effectively (and in an evidence based way) either directly save lives or significantly improve quality of life by preventing ill health or facilitating further income generation etc. I don't prioritise animals over humans, or people living in the UK or my local area over those abroad (but that's a personal moral choice). So I give to things like charities which prevent malaria by giving our mosquito nets in third world tropical areas, and to Give Directly which gives a no-strings monetary/cash donation to the world's poorest people so they can build themselves a house or buy livestock to give them food or an income etc. Both of these are really provably cost effective ways to make a difference and score very highly for what % of your cash donation ends up with the end recipient. If you are interested in learning more look at GiveWell or look up the effective altruism movement ... soap box moment over!