Many Benefits of Donating Time or Money to Non Profits

People in the U.S. typically do a good job of giving to charity, although they certainly could do better. About 70% of Americans donate to charity in any given year, although on average, they only give about 3% of their income. People also donate their time to charities and they donate new and used items, such as clothing that might be part of Red Cross pickups. There are a number of benefits to giving to charity.

One of the biggest advantages of giving either money or goods to charities is the tax break that you get. The IRS allows you to deduct from your taxable income money that you give to qualified charities as well as the value of items you give, such as a clothes donations. Unfortunately, you do not get a deduction for the value of time you donate.

Another big advantage to donating to charity is that you help those organizations with their mission. Money that is donated helps to pay salaries of employees, pay for services provided to needy people or to pay for scholarships for kids. And for organizations that take clothing donations and donations of other items, you help them generate revenue. When there is a Red Cross pickup in your area or when you donate clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army, you are providing items that organization can sell to generate more money. The proceeds from donated goods being resold are more than $2.5 billion a year.

Not all the benefits of donating to charities are tangible. There are intangible benefits as well. One is the feeling of doing good for other people who are in need or supporting a cause that you feel passionate about.. Another, in the case of donated items such as used clothing donations, is knowing that you are helping to keep things out of the landfill that can still have use for others even after you don’t need them any more.

Whatever your motivation is for donating money or items to charities or donating your time, you know that you will reap some benefits from doing so. Though that is not the prime motivation for most people, it is an important aspect of giving to non profits.