Folly #8: Yearend Giving

Why the frenzy to give this month?

It’s been a busy week.

The food, family, friends, and fray of Thanksgiving started us off. Then there was the financial push to “save” money by buying things on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. And this week’s philanthropy and community focus of Giving Tuesday filled up our inboxes and emptied more of our wallets.

Oh the pressure of saving all our goodness for the end of the year! (Bette, we miss you.)

As we head into this last month of 2022, yearend giving seems part of that routine. But why do donors do this to ourselves? For example…

Why don’t we give to nonprofits we love for Valentines Day?

Or we could pick an organization to celebrate as part of new beginnings: each month, season, or when we change to daylight savings. (Along with replacing the smoke detector batteries. Is that still a thing??)

Depending on the source, nonprofits receive 17-30% of their revenue in December. It seems like folly to add a year’s worth of charitable donations to everything else we’re doing at this busy time of year. Especially when we all know that a gift made anytime during the year is tax-deductible.

I was brainstorming this issue with my dear friend and amazing colleague, Lisa Parker of Family Circle Advisors, who offers several resources on money, kids and giving back. Lisa's work focuses on developing healthy and engaged intergenerational dynamics, using philanthropy and social action to bring kin of different ages, opinions and priorities together. Her projects include volunteering and giving together throughout the year. 

She suggested a slightly different twist: give the development staff at your favorite nonprofit a gift card to a local roastery for a much needed coffee break during this crazed time. (I hadn’t thought of that, and neither one of us knew anyone who had actually done it. Let’s all do it!)

Please also consider making ongoing, “recurring” gifts that give great organizations the consistent operating revenue that they need throughout the year, rather than a big bump at yearend.

I’m so appreciative that Lisa has offered to do a special guest interview for Funder Follies. (More on that in 2023 when we launch a paid subscription with interviews and best practices. In the meantime, buy us a coffee!)

What’s your solution to year-round giving? I hope you’ll share in the comments below or email me.

Let’s get creative in the year ahead. We can do better than volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, and making all our yearly donations on December 31.

Next week … Folly Take 9: Lived Experience Over Degrees.