Why Donate or Volunteer?

We all know it feels good to help others. You’d be hard pressed to find someone (aside from Ebenezer Scrooge) who doesn’t know the joy of helping the less fortunate. Yet most of us aren’t aware of all the benefits of giving to charity, so we’ve compiled a short list of some great reasons to give our time and money to those in need…

1. Experience More Pleasure
In research conducted by the National Institutes of Health, participants who chose to donate a portion of $100 they were provided enjoyed activated pleasure centers in the brain. This experiment showed that donating money simply makes you feel better, which is something we can all benefit from.

2. Bring More Meaning to Your Life
When you donate money to charity, you create opportunities to meet new people who believe in the same causes that inspire you. That, and making a real impact on those causes, can infuse your everyday life with more meaning. If you’ve been stuck in a rut, whether personally or professionally, sometimes the simple act of donating cash can do the trick and reinvigorate your life.

3. Get a Tax Deduction
If you give to an IRS-approved charity, you can write off donations on your tax return. Certain restrictions do apply, though. To learn more about them, along with whether or not a particular charity has IRS approval, check the IRS website about tax deductibility.

4. Promote Generosity in Your Children
When your kids see you donating money, they’re much more likely to adopt a giving mindset as they grow up. I write from personal experience. I’ve donated money to a variety of charities over the years and have always made sure to include my eight-year-old daughter in it. We often participate in beach cleanups and I make sure to educate her on the importance of conservation. When we walk by a homeless person, I’ll hand her a dollar or two to pass along to them. Every Christmas we bag up some of her old clothes and toys and we take them to a local homeless shelter… I’m confident all these small acts will lead her to be a caring, philanthropic adult. I highly encourage you to expose your kids to charity as well.

5. Gain Perspective
In today’s fast-paced, often-stressful world, it’s incredibly easy to fall into a self-absorbed daze. It’s easy to focus so heavily on your own problems that depression and anxiety can lead you to think your life is too hard to handle. When you donate or volunteer, you get exposed to people who are often in a far worse situation than yourself. Seeing others persevere despite horrible circumstances is not only inspiring but is a reminder that every day you wake up is a good day. It’s a way to gain humility and perspective that can help improve your mental health and your attitude, which in turn improves your overall well-being.

6. Improve Personal Money Management
If you set a scheduled $100 donation each month for a particular charity, that can motivate you to be more attentive to your own finances in an effort to ensure you don’t default or fall behind in your monthly donations. Anything that gets you to pay closer attention to your bank account is a good thing—especially when it helps those in need.

7. Motivate Friends and Family
When you let your friends and family know of your charitable donations, they may find themselves more motivated to undertake their own efforts to give. It takes a village to address issues such as world poverty, scientific advancement, and early childhood education. Stoking passions in the folks around you is a very positive and tangible effect of your own giving.

There you have it; 7 good reasons to help your fellow man/woman. If you want to give time or money to charity but aren’t sure where to start, we suggest looking into our Partner Charities listed https://charityswipes.com/about-2/ . If none of those suit your fancy, charitynavigator.org is a great resource for finding charities of all shapes and sizes. Thanks for reading and we wish you the best of luck in your quest for giving!

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