When consumers begin to feel a crunch in their budgets, they often reduce or eliminate charitable contributions first. Summer months can be especially difficult to budget for charities. Many nonprofits, particularly smaller organizations, see donation declines in the summer due to a perceived lack of need, (their services are assumed to not be as necessary as they are during the winter and holiday months), and many who normally give tend to use their usual donation funds for increased electric bills, food costs with school out of session, gas prices and family vacations.
Keeping a budget during the summer while still continuing to give may be difficult, but it’s possible. Here are some tips for balancing your budget this summer:
Prioritize: Chances are some of the charities you support have greater importance to you than others. Create a list of all the groups you donate to and rank them. Then decide how many you can continue to support.
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Consider more bang for your buck: Where does your dollar do the most good, both long term and short term? You may want to continue supporting groups with an immediate need and making larger donations to groups with a long-term goal when you can again afford it.
Give time versus money: If you decide you can no longer donate cash, consider donating your time or doing pro bono work for an organization. They may be paying for services that you can provide free. You may even consider combining your vacation and non-profit work together, such as participating in a mission trip or taking one day of your vacation to do park clean up as examples.
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Donate goods: Cut some coupons, scan the grocery circulars and purchase items for a food pantry, homeless shelter or other group. Don’t forget these organizations often need personal hygiene items and infant products like diapers and wipes. You can even host a drive to get others to help as well.
Decrease all equally: If you can’t live with eliminating one or more charities from your donation roster, consider a temporary percentage decrease across the board. Once the summer on is over and you’ve got your momentum back, you can increase your charitable donations to previous levels – or possibly higher.
Your charitable donations don’t always have to take a hit to help you budget for the summer. There may be other areas of your budget that can help with increased summer expenses and vacations instead. Your financial planner can help you re-examine your own situation to determine what you can afford to give, while meeting all your summer goals.
