Regular charitable giving

[Bushkin]

Just talking to DH about doing some more regular charitable giving.

We have a couple of small DDs for national charities and we give fairly generously to a couple of local orgs at certain times of year as well as ad hoc for friends causes etc.

Do many of you give like a regular % of income? How did you decide how much/which charity?

Not sure if money matters is right place but hopefully ok.

To tithe is biblical, but I don't think it would in most people's thoughts be "standard". Loads of people don't have any standing orders or direct debits.
25% is HUGE and I suspect incredibly rare. Fair play to you.

I started with really small standing orders when we had very little money - charities that touched me in one way or another, or who were just lucky enough to catch my eye at a time I felt I could afford to set another one up. Because the amounts are small, it seems almost petty to cancel, but, x12 times a year, over several years, it starts to add up. Then, when we've had more money (a pay rise with inflation or a pay rise with promotion / finishing paying for childcare / when the dc stopped doing something we had to pay for / etc) I've just set up another one, or increased some I've got.
It is very rare to stop one - only if they keep harassing me to give them more all the time, or if they do something I disagree with.

It isn't a % though, although I do agree this is a good idea, to keep up a generous level of giving.

I follow effective altruism which is basically aiming to do the most good you can with your money/resources. I took the Giving What We Can pledge and donate 10% of my income using payroll giving. I use Givewell and other effective charity evaluators to help me choose charities so my top ones currently are the Against Malaria Foundation, SCI Foundation (which treats neglected tropical diseases) and Cool Earth.
If you’re interested I’d recommend a couple of books on the thinking behind how to target your donations, particularly The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer and Doing Good Better by William McAskill.

@Kite22 that’s exactly what I’ve done to get my 2% so far. E.g. for one I give £5 a month to this tiny charity that campaigns to end shark fin soup in the UK after watching that awful footage of the sharks at the bottom of the sea with no fins 😢. You have inspired me to increase my DDs with upcoming promotion!

I give to welsh air ambulance every month,before that was barnardos

I always give money to charity on payday- first thing I do after I'm paid and it sets me up to feel grateful for the money I have.

I don't Automate it purposefully so I have to think about it, chose my charity and then make the donation manually.

Sets me up to be grateful for everything I have in my life.

I have direct debits for the Rainforest alliance, Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) and Refuge, which add up to £20 a month, then give sporadically if we have some extra money or there’s a crisis campaign. I would like to give more but we don’t have a big income and we’re saving for a house and paying nursery fees so it’s all a bit tight.

Thank you all! Definitely food for thought. Going to add one new charity at payday, I like the idea of starting the month by giving.

Also WTF at the shark fin soup? I had no idea!

I’ve just found out you can actually get The Life You Can Save as a free audiobook or ebook on his website - audiobook read by various people including Stephen Fry, Paul Simon & Kristen Bell www.thelifeyoucansave.org/the-book/

@D0lphine

I always give money to charity on payday- first thing I do after I'm paid and it sets me up to feel grateful for the money I have.

I don't Automate it purposefully so I have to think about it, chose my charity and then make the donation manually.

Sets me up to be grateful for everything I have in my life.

Same