Philanthropy gives you an opportunity to contribute your wealth, effort, and knowledge towards funding a good cause. Philanthropists get an opportunity to positively impact the society and shape other people’s lives, especially those who are significantly disadvantaged, socially and economically. Being an effective philanthropist requires you to understand certain crucial elements.
Established and Stand for Your Cause
Before venturing into philanthropy, you should do some due diligence of research and seek to venture in a given a venue of your interest. There exist various common societal issues which you can venture in, including elements such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, children, the elderly, and even women. To ensure you choose the right area to fund, you should have your personal values and passions well-factored. Establishing and standing by your course ensures that you remain an effective philanthropist.
Determine What You Want to Achieve
Achievement in philanthropy is crucial as you would want to see some change after a period of making contributions. You cannot have substantial achievement if you do not have well established and defined goals. When outlining your goals for your philanthropy, you should endeavor to ensure that they are SMART. Depending on your financial capability, you should set reasonable goals that are achievable within a favorable timeline. This gives you an opportunity to visualize how your philanthropic efforts are contributing to the social change of your targeted population or area.
Stay Focused on Your Goal
Becoming a lifetime dedicated philanthropist requires you to stay focused and dedicated to meeting your objectives. The process of contributing funds and wealth towards philanthropy is not as easy as you may think. You may need to find synergies with like-minded philanthropists with whom to establish partnerships and, therefore, strengthen each other. Partnerships may even be established with other non-governmental organizations that believe in a similar cause as yours. Such synergies give you an enhanced ability to achieve better results.
Establish a Giving Framework
Making financial contributions from your wealth to philanthropy should be well structured and defined within your personal or corporate financial plans. The financial plan should outline, among other things, the percentage of your earnings that will go towards philanthropy and the prospected frequency of the contributions. Such a plan is crucial to ensure that you maintain restraint and discipline when giving to philanthropy.