Three Tips to “Spring Clean” Your Giving

Many of us engage in the annual ritual of spring cleaning, especially as we approach Passover. This is a wonderful time of year to review the organizations we give to as well. Just as Marie Kondo advocates holding each of the objects in our life and asking if it brings us joy, we can do something similar with the organizations we support. Here are three simple tips you can follow to get your giving house in order.

1. Conduct an annual review of the organizations you support.

Reflect on each of the organizations you contribute to and ask yourself:

• How did you come to learn about the organization and their work?
• What do you follow about their work? What are their current priorities?
• Why is it important to you to be a supporter of this organization?
• Might you be interested in engaging strategically, through more significant giving or volunteering?

2. Help Your Favorite Organizations Meet Their Goals

For many nonprofits, the fiscal year ends on June 30. This is a great time of year to help your favorite organizations meet their annual goals. Some offer matching challenge grants this time of year, so a gift may go even further. Your employer may even offer a matching gift program – use our online tool to find out.

If it is important that a donation be received by the organization before the end of June, please be sure to make your grant recommendation no later than June 11.

3. Consider the Power of Multi-Year Grants

Most nonprofit organizations see their mission as something to be achieved over the long-term. Yet, the realities of fundraising often force them to be short-sighted. Multi-year grants provide the organizations you care about with a guaranteed income stream that they can use to launch a long-term program or start construction on a building. Plus, that guaranteed income allows them to focus more on providing services – and less on raising funds.

It’s simple to use Federation Philanthropy Partners’ DonorFirst platform to recommend a multi-year grant from your donor-advised fund. When you are entering the grant amount and purpose, you’ll see a box on the screen called, “Regranting Schedule.” This is where you can indicate how often you’d like to recommend grants, such as annually, and also the number of additional times to regrant.

Philanthropy advisors are available to help conduct an annual organizational review, assist with grantmaking, or develop strategies to make your giving more effective. Let us know how we can help!