My wife Karen Schneider and I gave just under seven percent of our pretax income to charity in 2017. Most Americans give away about three percent of their adjusted gross income, according to the Urban Institute, but our earnings are higher, so we should give away more. The Life You Can Save, a website inspired by the moral philosopher Peter Singer, has a calculator that recommends the percentage of your income that he believes you should give.

  1. My biggest donation this year went to Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation. In this, I’m like most Americans; religion was the biggest category of individual giving last year, reports Giving USA. My religious beliefs and synagogue community fuel much of my work and guide much of my life; giving to Adat Shalom is like paying the bills for spiritual energy and an ethical GPS.
  2. My next biggest donation went GiveDirectly. GiveDirectly, which makes unconditional cash grants to extremely poor people in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, has become my favorite charity for several reasons. First, I love the idea of simply giving money to the poor, and letting them decide what to do with it; it’s efficient (91 cents of every donated dollar ends up in the hands of the poor) and studies indicate that it is effective as well.
  3. Third on my giving list is GiveWell, a donation platform that identifies and analyzes effective charities.
  4. My fourth biggest donation went to Animal Charity Evaluators. Animals raised for food endure terrible suffering; Animal Charity Evaluators examines nonprofits that advocate on behalf of farm animals.

My wife Karen chose the other groups to which we made significant donations. They are Mama Cash, which supports feminist activism around the world; the National Network of Abortion Funds, which provides access to abortions for poor women; and the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, which support advocates for LGBTQI human rights.

Karen and I made smaller donations to nonprofits where friends work or volunteer. They include the International Rescue Committee, Yachad, The Life You Can Save, the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, Climate Ride and the Insight Meditation Community of Washington.

Read the full article about Marc Gunther's giving summary for 2017 at Nonprofit Chronicles.