4 tips for a joyful giving season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and also the busiest. You’re likely already feeling pulled in many directions—by deadlines, celebrations, and family gatherings. Year-end philanthropy can sometimes feel like one more thing on the to-do list. With so many demands on your attention, set yourself up for success by approaching your year-end giving with intention.

At Fidelity Charitable, we offer resources to help donors identify their mission and goals for giving and tools to help carry out their plans. Our Philanthropic Strategists recently sat down together to discuss tips and tricks for success in year-end giving. Here are four of their top takeaways.

1. Set simple, values-based goals

If you’re feeling pressure to give as the holiday season approaches but aren’t quite sure where to begin, start with your values and personal mission. Values are shaped by personal beliefs and life experiences, and they can help guide you in making decisions. Furthermore, your values are the foundation of your sense of purpose. With that in mind, write down two to three things you want to achieve philanthropically in the final weeks of the year.

"Seeing this season as an opportunity for impact, I encourage donors to set a few ambitious and attainable goals for this year," Philanthropic Strategist May Mark said.

Depending on where you are in your philanthropic journey, these goals may include:

• Spending an afternoon with your family volunteering for a nonprofit you care about
• Researching a new-to-you nonprofit
• Making one or two significant gifts
• Scheduling a recurring grant recommendation

2. Involve family members early in the giving season

If your family gets together for holiday preparations or celebrations, use these opportunities to participate in volunteer activities together or discuss philanthropic plans, perhaps even choosing an organization or cause to support as a family. While there may be differences in priorities across the holiday table, philanthropy can be one way for even those with vast differences to find common ground.

Allison Shean, Director of Philanthropic Strategies, has worked with one family in which all the siblings have very different individual giving interests but share a fond memory of family camping trips. They came together around these shared family memories, creating a giving plan to support natural resource conservation.

“Philanthropy can really bond people across generations and philosophies,” Shean said.

Even the youngest members of the family can get involved, whether by participating in a volunteer event or by using some of their own money to support holiday food or gift drives. A Gift4Giving allows you to allocate funds from a Giving Account to another individual, who can use it to recommend grants to the charity of their choice. This can be a good way to support family members’ participation, especially for older kids.

3. Lay the foundation for deeper nonprofit connections in the new year

Relationship-building can be a rewarding part of philanthropy. But don’t feel like you need to fit in a year’s worth of engagement with your favorite nonprofits at the end of the year, which is also the busiest time for many organizations. It may be a good opportunity to make an unrestricted gift and then spend some time planning a longer-term way to engage outside of the chaos of the holiday season. Review the websites of your favorite organizations and see how their goals align with yours. When you know that you want to develop a relationship with a particular nonprofit, reach out to schedule a time to volunteer, or set up a meeting or site visit in the new year. This will help you better understand the organization’s needs and how your support can be most beneficial. For help knowing what questions to ask, see our Charting for Impact discussion guide and worksheet.

This kind of relationship-building can lead to more consistent and thoughtful philanthropy throughout the year.

“We encourage donors not to get too caught up in the holiday time asks; focus on being a consistent and thoughtful philanthropist throughout the year,” Philanthropic Strategist Linda Shak said.

Remember that a nonprofit’s fiscal year may not match up with the calendar, so your support may be more impactful at another time. The deeper your relationship with an organization, the better-positioned you will be to help it meet its goals.

4. Set yourself up for success with responsive giving

The end of the year often brings a flurry of unexpected requests for donations. It’s important to allocate most of your giving to grants that are closely tied to your long-standing philanthropic values and goals. But one of the best ways to reduce stress around philanthropy is to make room for saying “yes” to unanticipated asks from family members or urgent community needs.

This strategy is sometimes referred to as responsive giving, and it suggests planning for 80% of your annual giving to go toward strategic, mission-driven grants. The remaining 20% of your funds are reserved for when unplanned opportunities arise, allowing you to react quickly and with greater impact.

If you reach the final quarter of the year and still have a significant amount of that 20% set aside for responsive granting, consider whether you can go bigger and bolder than you have in the past. This year in particular a lot of organizations have experienced budget cuts and are in need of additional grants.

Maybe an organization you haven’t worked with in a while has an innovative new program or increased need. Perhaps there’s a cause you haven’t supported in the past that’s speaking to you now. Keep an eye out as well for Giving Tuesday matching challenges. Corporations, major donors, and foundations often agree to match donations up to a certain amount during a specified period. This kind of opportunity can double your dollars, pushing your support even further.

Lean into the joy of the giving season

When the holiday giving season rolls around, the requests that fill up your inbox can feel overwhelming. To set yourself up for stress-free end-of-year giving, focus on your values, work alongside your family and the organizations that you love, and plan for unexpected giving opportunities. There are many resources available from Fidelity Charitable to help you balance your needs with those of the nonprofits you choose to support.

In a season that’s already so filled with celebration, you can compound that joy for yourself, your family, and those who need it most by giving to organizations that lift your spirit.

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Read more tips for giving smarter at year-end