3 Steps to Creating an Intentional Giving Plan

A question we often get is, “How do I know if I’m making a big enough impact with my giving?” It’s a good question because it signals that the donor desires thoughtfulness and purpose with their philanthropy and is looking to create a more intentional giving plan.

Here are some steps to consider:

1. Define your “why.” Create a mission statement, or a vision of what you want your community to look like in 50 years and what you can do to help impact that. The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has developed this list of Values and Issue Areas. Feel free to use this as a starting point for prioritizing the values and issue areas that you believe are most pressing in your community. Once you have identified that, you can create a charitable giving statement.

2. Make a charitable budget. Review your giving for the last few years and make a list of the organizations you gave to. Look for consistency and patterns and then think about how you felt making each of those gifts. Did it bring you joy and a sense that your gift was going to make an important impact for the organization? Is it aligned with the values and concerns you identified as being most important to you? Or did it feel more obligatory and expected? As you create your budget, we advise allocating a greater percentage of your annual giving to organizations that are well aligned with your values.

3. Consider all the ways you might want to give. The four Ts (Treasure, Talent, Time and Ties) are a good framework to reflect on to create a plan for how you might be able to incorporate all of them into your philanthropy. Treasure refers to financial gifts, Talent is a specific skill you bring to an organization, Time is your valuable volunteering and Ties is your social and peer network. Some donors choose to focus all four Ts on a singular organization or issue, while others give their Time and Talent to one organization and Treasure and Ties to another. All are valuable and important to consider.

Be planful and intentional with your charitable giving. Spend some time defining your values and your issue areas and then review your giving annually to ensure that your gifts still feel joyful, value-aligned and impactful. As time goes on, you might discover some new passion areas and use your plan as a living document that changes and grows.

If you’re interested in learning more about giving strategies to maximize charitable impact and minimize taxes, read our article on leveraging charitable giving for tax efficiency.