Goal #28: Donate 10% of Income to Charity

This was an impulsive decision. As of 30 minutes ago, I had barely made a dent in my goal of donating 10% of our post tax income to charity. But then I read an article my wife wrote about the lack of diagnostic healthcare in the developing world.

Giving away a chunk of money and completing one of my goals seemed like the most obvious thing to do, so I donated some of our investments to Give Well, an organization that studies the most effective charities and distributes money accordingly.

I really hate donating money to charity almost entirely because there is no positive reinforcement. A couple of mouse clicks and poof, my investment account is down several thousand dollars. There’s no warm fuzzy feeling usually associated with charitable giving, just some auto-generated thank you email. I get some brownie points for heaven though, right?

God: John, I know you haven’t believed in me your whole life, but I’ve decided to look past your lack of faith and liberal use of my name in vain since you donated all that money to charity.

That’s how I imagine it happening at least.

I don’t like completing this goal, but that’s exactly why I need it. The loss to me is so evident and I may never see the direct benefit, but I know that the minor anxiety I feel now doesn’t hold a candle to the benefit gained by those in need.