This is the season to give. To light up another life. To express gratitude for our good fortune. To share what we have and to revel in the joy that spreads. But many of us don’t give. Despite our best intentions. Why? To give is to recognise that what we have earned for ourselves is also a product of so much support from the communities, the society, the country and the people we live with. To give is to appreciate that what we have beyond our needs has a zillion alternate uses that are far more deserving of being financed. To give what the others need is far superior to giving away what we no longer need. We perhaps know all this, but we don’t act in time, or adequately. What stops us?
Some of us worry about where the funds would go. We cannot stop at just giving. We want to still be sure that the cause we think we are supporting is being funded. Fair enough. An organisational structure is needed to enable large scale acts of charity and support. There are many good ones and as is always the case, bad ones too.
Good news is not news, they say. Something that went wrong attracts publicity. Every now and then we hear stories about how money meant for a good cause was diverted for other uses. The good work done by many noble organisations does not receive as much attention. Even if there is publicity for good work we tend to remain suspicious.
The net result is that we don’t trust enough to give. That need not be the case. Many organisations publicly disclose their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts. They are transparent about how much of the donation they are spending on running the enterprise.
Find out the organisations that work for the causes you care the most about. Look up their websites. Call and speak to them. Ask the questions you like to ask. After being satisfied with their work, make the rule that you will donate at a given frequency and a given amount. Setting this up will make it easy for you to donate and help the organisation anticipate its donations.
If donating to such entities seems far fetched, seek out causes you know and care about, and have some historical association with. Your school may need renovation; your village may need water; the hospital near your home might need modernisation; and so on. Look for opportunities closer to your home and for organisations …….