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9 Positive Effects of Donating Money to Charity

4/28/2017

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By Jay Robertson
According to a report recently released by Atlas of Giving1, after a stellar year of charitable donations in 2014, the outlook for this year is less than robust. In fact, U.S.-based giving could decrease by as much as 3.2% for a variety of reasons—including rising interest rates, a possible stock market correction, and continuing decline in employment compensation. But just because certain economic factors may have an impact on giving, this doesn't mean that you should put off your own charitable efforts. You might be surprised to learn that, ultimately, it might be you who reaps some of the best rewards of your donation. Here are nine positive effects of giving to charity.
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1. Experience More Pleasure
In research conducted by the National Institutes of Health2, participants who chose to donate a portion of $100 they were provided enjoyed activated pleasure centers in the brain. Although this experiment was controlled and scientific, it did show that donating money simply makes you feel better, which is something we can all benefit from
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2. Help Others in Need
We don't live in a perfect world, and there's never going to be a perfect time to give—but there are always people out there in need of help. Whether interest rates are rising, the economy is in the doldrums, or even if you're experiencing financial difficulties of your own, the reality is that when you donate your money, you help others who need it.

3. Get a Tax Deduction
If you give to an IRS-approved charity, you can write off donations on your tax return. Certain restrictions do apply, though. To learn more about them, along with whether or not a particular charity has IRS approval, check the IRS website or The Life You Can Save’s fact sheet about tax deductibility. Donating your cash is a great way to reduce the amount of money you send off to Uncle Sam, and for a good cause, to boot.

4. Bring More Meaning to Your Life
When you donate money to charity, you create opportunities to meet new people who believe in the same causes that inspire you. That, and making a real impact on those causes, can infuse your everyday life with more meaning. If you've been stuck in a rut, whether personally or professionally, sometimes the simple act of donating cash can do the trick and reinvigorate your life.

5. Promote Generosity in Your Children
When your kids see you donating money, they're much more likely to adopt a giving mindset as they grow up. I write from personal experience. I've donated money to a variety of charities over the years and have always made sure to inform my eight-year-old son of my efforts. Last Christmas, when he and I were shopping at a mall, he spotted a kiosk for a charity and rather than spending some of his allotted money on Christmas gifts, he asked if we could sponsor a hungry child overseas. We signed up then and there. Do the same with your kids and you might see similar results.

6. Motivate Friends and Family
When you let your friends and family know of your charitable donations, they may find themselves more motivated to undertake their own efforts to give. It takes a village to address issues such as world poverty, scientific advancement, and early childhood education. Stoking passions in the folks around you is a very positive and tangible effect of your own giving.

7. Realize that Every Little Bit Helps
You don't need $10,000 to make a difference in someone's life. In developing countries, even just a few U.S. dollars could result in a week's worth of meals for a starving child, much-needed medical attention, and even improved schooling. Don't just think of your cash donation from an American economic perspective. Often that money can go a lot further elsewhere in the world.

8. Improve Personal Money Management
If you set a scheduled $100 donation each month for a particular charity, that can motivate you to be more attentive to your own finances in an effort to ensure you don't default or fall behind in your monthly donations. Anything that gets you to pay closer attention to your bank account is a good thing—especially when it helps those in need.

9. Give, If You Can't Volunteer
This might not necessarily be a positive effect of charitable giving, but if you're too busy to volunteer or otherwise donate your time, giving money is the perfect workaround. Never think that you can't improve someone's life or the world itself if your personal or professional schedule won't allow the time. Writing out a check is a simple way to show you're willing to help others in any way you can.


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New research shows that helping others may be the key to happiness.

4/25/2017

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By Lisa Farino

Few of us are immune to the frustrations and challenges of daily life—family problems, conflicts at work, illness, stress over money. When we get depressed or anxious, experts may recommend medication and/or therapy. But a newly emerging school of thought suggests that a simple, age-old principle may be part of both the prevention and the cure: Help others to help yourself.

There’s no shortage of research showing that people who give time, money, or support to others are more likely to be happy and satisfied with their lives—and less likely to be depressed. Could helping others be the key to weathering the inevitable storms of life?

Feel-good research

Carolyn Schwartz, a research professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, didn’t start out looking at the value of helping others. Instead, she wanted to see if receiving monthly peer-support phone calls from fellow multiple sclerosis sufferers would benefit others with the disease. But over time, a surprising trend emerged. While those receiving support appeared to gain some mild benefit, the real beneficiaries were those lending a supportive ear. In fact, those who offered support experienced dramatic improvements in their quality of life—several times more so than those they were helping.

The benefits of giving aren’t limited to those who are ill. When Schwartz later looked at more than 2,000 mostly healthy Presbyterian church-goers across the nation, she found that those who helped others were significantly happier and less depressed than those who didn’t.

This phenomenon is nothing new. Paul Wink and Michele Dillon found a similar pattern when they looked at data collected every decade on a group of San Francisco Bay Area residents beginning in the 1930s. Those who volunteered and engaged in other forms of giving when they were adolescents were much less likely to become depressed, even as they got older.

New research suggests there may be a biochemical explanation for the positive emotions associated with doing good. In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, participants’ brains were monitored by MRI scans while they made decisions about donating part of their research payment to charitable organizations. When participants chose to donate money, the brain’s mesolimbic system was activated, the same part of the brain that’s activated in response to monetary rewards, sex, and other positive stimuli. Choosing to donate also activated the brain’s subgenual area, the part of the brain that produces feel-good chemicals, like oxytocin, that promote social bonding.

Why doing good works

These results may seem surprising, especially since our culture tends to associate happiness with getting something. Why should we humans be programmed to respond so positively to giving?

“As Darwin noted, group selection played a strong rule in human evolution. If something like helping benefits the group, it will be associated with pleasure and happiness,” explains Stephen Post, Ph.D., a research professor of bioethics at Case Western Reserve University who co-authored the book Why Good Things Happen to Good Peoplewith Jill Neimark.

While evolution may have primed us to feel good from giving, it may not be the only reason helping others makes us feel better. Since depression, anxiety, and stress involve a high degree of focus on the self, focusing on the needs of others literally helps shift our thinking.

“When you’re experiencing compassion, benevolence, and kindness, they push aside the negative emotions,” says Post. “One of the best ways to overcome stress is to do something to help someone else.”

Even better, feeling good and doing good can combine to create a positive feedback loop, where doing good helps us to feel good and feeling good also makes us more likely to do good.

“Numerous studies have found that happy people are more helpful,” says Dr. David Myers, a social psychologist at Hope College and author of The Pursuit of Happiness. “Those who’ve just found money in a phone booth are more likely to help a passerby with dropped papers. Those who feel successful are more likely to volunteer as a tutor.”

When giving isn’t good

While doing good is generally good for the doer, Post stresses that there are two important caveats. First, the caregiver can’t be overwhelmed. There’s ample research showing negative mental and physical consequences for givers who are overburdened and stressed by their duties—or who do so much they don’t have time to have fun and take care of themselves.

In addition, while helping others can be a great antidote to the mild depression, stress, and anxiety that is a normal part of the ups and downs daily life, Post emphasizes that it’s not a cure for severe depression. “If you are clinically depressed, you need professional help,” Post says.

But for people who aren’t severely depressed and who give within their limits, helping others can bring joy and happiness—and better health and longevity too.

Some people wonder if these positive benefits make helping others an ultimately selfish act. “If the warm glow and ‘helper’s high’ that people experience when they help others is selfish, then we need more of this kind of selfishness,” says Post.

How to help others—and yourself

Incorporating kindness into your daily life isn’t difficult. Here are five easy things you can do to help others—and yourself:
  • Volunteer. Research shows that people who volunteer just two hours per week (about 100 hours per year) have better physical health and are less depressed. To find volunteer opportunities in your area, visit Volunteer Match or contact your local church or school.
  • Informally offer help to family, friends, and neighbors. Lend a needed tool, bring dinner to someone who’s sick, feed pets for neighbors on vacation, or offer a ride to someone who lacks a car.
  • Donate. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money. Toss change into coffee cans at cash registers or support local organizations by buying a raffle ticket. Look for opportunities to give within your means. You’ll help make the world a better place and make yourself feel better too.
  • Listen. Sometimes all others need is someone to lend a sympathetic ear to make them feel heard, cared for and loved.
  • Make other people (and yourself) smile. The easiest way to make other people happy is to act happy yourself, even if it’s not how you feel. “Sometimes we can act ourselves into a way of thinking,” says Myers. “So like the old song says, ‘Put on a happy face.’ Talk as if you have self-esteem and are outgoing and optimistic. Going through the motions can awaken the emotions.”

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St. John School Youth Philanthropy Board announces grant recipients

4/9/2017

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SAYBROOK — St. John School has announced the recipients of its 2017 Youth Philanthropy Board grants. The Ashtabula Foundation provides each Ashtabula County high school with the opportunity to award $5,000 in grants to area non-profit organizations, and St. John’s Philanthropy Board received a number of proposals this year.
In addition to funding provided by The Ashtabula Foundation, St. John students have been making monetary donations on school sponsored dress-down days and the Philanthropy Board will be awarding additional funds to some local non-profits at the end of the school year. Saint John’s Philanthropy Board 2017 grants have been awarded to the following non-profit organizations with their listed projects:

• Birthcare, Inc., of Ashtabula County: Purchasing diapers and formula for local newborns.
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• Catholic Charities of Ashtabula County: Purchasing of turkey, ham and other perishable food items for the Thankful Hearts Program to provide area families with Thanksgiving meals.

• Farm for Christ: Purchase beef cattle to be distributed to Ashtabula County families in need.

• Our Lady of Peace Parish Neighbor to Neighbor Food Pantry: Purchase additional fresh (non-processed) meat to provide healthier meals to the families they serve.

• G.O. Community Development Corporation: Purchase additional items to better stock the clothing bank for local families in need.

• Learning About Business (LAB): Purchase additional programming opportunities for area high school sophomores and juniors to participate in an interactive program exploring future business careers.

• Mya Women’s Center: Purchase infant car seats for families in need to transport their newborns home from the hospital.  

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