164. Three Ways to Be More Generous This Year

This week let’s chat about three ways to be more generous this year! Whether you have five minutes or you have more time, you'll find an idea in this episode that inspires you to become the more generous person that you want to be in 2025.

ICYMI another episode you might enjoy:

Episode#136 Where does Dolly Pardon donate her money?

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Transcript

Welcome to Progressive Pockets! I go by GG, that’s short for Genet Gimja. This is a show about a source of power that I think we’re leaving on the table. I’m talking about our money. I don’t think billionaires are the only ones who can flex their wallets and change the world, I think we can too. That’s what this show is about. You’ll hear episodes about finding a bank that lines up with your values, about moving some of your investments to companies that care about the planet and our people, and much much more.

It’s the time of year that you might be thinking about some things you want to do differently, such as being more generous. One type of content I will never get tired of is personal finance content, especially the type where everyday Americans go on to a platform and open up their finances for a personal finance expert to help them identify how they can improve their finances. And one thing that comes up a lot is people talking about how they’d like to be more generous. With their loved ones and with their communities.

So let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about some easy easy ways to be more generous this year.

As always, I’m going to meet you where you are, and the suggestions are going to be practical, things you can do today. Literally.

So, three ways to be more generous. I’m going to share something really small that you can do, something a little bigger, and then I’ll also share a big idea for you today. Where should we start? You know, let’s start with the big idea, why not. And then if you’re not quite ready for that, you can go on to the next one.

Ok so the first way to be more generous this year is to look back at all the places you donated last year or in recent years and set up a recurrent donation for one of those places. I think sometimes we overcomplicate things and, well, let me speak for myself, sometimes I can try to over optimize things and find the perfect place to donate that exactly matches my goals and exactly matches some criteria I have in my mind and I can get lost in that analysis and never actually choose something and move forward. So that’s why my first big idea is to just look back at places you’ve already given and just say yes, I will become a more sustaining supporter.

Recurring donations to the same place are incredibly helpful for a nonprofit because they can actually plan the months ahead. Imagine trying to plan what you’re going to do this year without knowing how much money you’ll have from one month to the next. So that’s the first idea, you can become a lot more generous this year if you look at places you’ve already given and you become a recurring giver.

Ok maybe you’re not ready to become a monthly giver, that’s completely fine! Here’s another idea for how you can become more generous this year. Maybe you don’t have a place you’ve given that you feel any particular attachment towards. Well, herer’s what you can do:

Reach out to your community minded friend, ask them their favorite place to donate and why, and then make a donation to that place.

This is the same approach I use when I need to buy things that I just don’t really know a lot about. For example, tech gear. I just am not that person. I don’t find it interesting, I don’t follow the trends. I get too bored to do research before I buy something. So I ask my friends who are into that stuff. The ones who doing way more research than I would ever do on the topic.

I bet you have a friend who is really involved in the community and has put a lof of thought into where they give. If you don’t have that friend already, I can be that friend to you. Just send me an email with the types of causes you tend to care about and who knows, I might have a recommendation for you to consider. I don’t work for any nonprofits or represent any, but it is the thing I like to read about. It is the thing I have studied academically and professionally. Same as my friends who are really into tech stuff, they geek out about it and are happy to share what they know. I’m happy to share with you what I know if I can be helpful to you. You can email me anytime at progressive pockets at gmail dot com.

The idea here is to reach out to someone who has spent the time looking into where to give, ask them and then make a donation to that place. Simple!

And here’s one last idea, a small but fun one, to be more generous this year.

Next time you stop into your neighborhood grocery store or restaurant, buy a gift card and put it in your wallet. Soon you’ll have a stash of gift cards and next time you come across someone who needs help, if you’re like a lot of people nowadays, you won’t have cash on you, but you will have these gift cards. Buy from places that are locally accessible.

I know for me, living in the city, I see a lot of people that need help all the time. Sometimes they have cardboard signs, sometimes they just ask for help on the sidewalk, while I’m out running errands. And here’s the thing, most of us almost never have cash anymore! So it becomes an issue of how to help when you don’t have that cash on you.

So that’s where I think these gift cards can become helpful. Just do pick places that are accessible. I’m talking about the fast food places that are along my daily walk. The Target, the grocery store, those types of places.

Let’s talk again soon!