When Gabe pulled together some resources to help you on your philanthropic journey, he took care to include the following guidance for folks interested in giving generously at the top of the article:
Giving is best understood as a continuous practice, not a one-time check writing extravaganza. The most effective donors tend to view it as something they try to get better at over time, and often develop an intensely personal sense of what matters.
In other words, even though it would be amazing to make a huge donation to your favorite organization through great personal sacrifice, it would be much healthier to support them in ways that are sustainable for you.
That can include giving non-monetary resources like your time and energy, but also remembering that you’re no good to the causes you care about if you don’t take care of yourself.
Think about what they tell you on airplanes: “put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting other passengers.” This is intensely practical! If you help others without thinking about yourself, you stand a very good chance of making things worse overall by putting yourself into a position where you need saving.
So what should you do? Here are a couple of steps that might feel productive and impactful apart from volunteering:
- Identify the organizations you’d like to support and put them in your will. That way the organizations you care about will get your resources when you’re no longer using them.
- Organize a get-together with a suggested donation to your favorite organization. For bonus points, provide some resources to the folks who attend that help them see why the cause matters to you.
- Spend time amplifying messages from activists and organizations you care about on your social media platforms.
- Decide in advance to give a percentage of any extra money you come into to causes you care about, but only if it doesn’t put your personal finances in peril.
- Take steps to be someone that others can rely on in emergency situations by keeping things like naloxone and band-aids handy while you’re out moving through the world.
The most important thing to remember is that you’re not alone. As you navigate these complex tradeoffs, please never hesitate to use the team at Ethical Capital as a resource.
Thanks to Jasmine Rashid for asking these questions in her newsletter and inspiring us to pull this help page together.