Charitable Giving in 2024
At the end of the year I square up my donations in order to meet the fuzzy target I set for that year. There is really no reason why I need to do this by the end of the year. It is mostly a habit from back when there was a tax advantage to donating smaller amounts while using the standard deduction.
Here is my general methodology:
- Throughout the year when anyone I know (friends, family, coworkers, local orgs) asks me for support or donations, I always contribute - even if it's small.
- Do lump sum donations only. This means no memberships or recurring monthly subscriptions.
- Some charities I continue to do every year, but always rotate in new ones and research the effectiveness of existing ones.
- Also rotate causes year by year depending on what is going on in the world. For example one year I may target climate change issues. Another year I may lean on political issues or global welfare.
- Always give significantly to animal advocacy groups since animal agriculture results in more suffering and environmental damage then other industries by orders of magnitude.
- For larger donations, gift my most appreciated stocks instead of cash which helps minimize capital gains taxes and maximize the impact of my giving.
Here are most of the donations I gave in 2024.
Cash donations to communities/local orgs
Open source/tech
Larger stock donations