As I wrote before, one of my goals for 2008 is to increase my giving to my church to reach 10% of my income, meaning I intend to tithe in 2008. We give consistently throughout the year so that it has become a habit, a part of our lifestyle. On the flip side, there are many who choose instead to wait until the end of the year to give.
I want to take a look at the differences between the two philosophies. Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments.
Benefits
Year-Long Giving
- Allows you to meter your giving and make it part of your monthly budget
- Useful for long-term commitment giving to one organization
- Helps cover the charity’s day-to-day expenses
Year-End Giving
- Allows you to save your money, gain interest, and give a larger one-time donation at the end
- Useful for giving to multiple organizations – divide one-time donation of x dollars into y organizations
- Helps cover charity’s large holiday expenditures
Weaknesses
Year-Long Giving
- One month may be a little tighter than the another, making giving more difficult
- You lose the potential compounded gains from year-long savings
Year-End Giving
- You actually have to save, otherwise there won’t be as much to give
- The charitable organization loses out on the compounded gains from your donation, assuming your giving comes only from December’s income
Possible Motivations
Year-Long Giving
- Long-term commitment to an organization
- Religious obligations, implied or otherwise
- Tax deduction
Year-End Giving
- Offset gains for tax purposes
- Fund a charity in dire need
- Use as leverage to fund a specific cause within a charity
This is far from a complete list, because I’m interested in hearing what you believe. After writing this, I still feel that year-long giving is the best way for me to give at the level I choose and that it will best serve my church to give in that fashion.
So, what do you think? Am I missing any big factors? Do you disagree with any of my categorizations? Tell me in the comments.
