Giving Compass' Take:

• Here is a checklist from GlobalGiving's Smart Giving Guide that encourages donors to give with impact and explains how to do so.

• Are you already practicing some of the steps on the checklist? What does 'giving with impact' mean to you?

• Learn more about impact giving from the Center for Effective Philanthropy Magazine. 


You don’t need to be a millionaire to become a philanthropist. Simply put, a philanthropist is someone who promotes the welfare of others, most commonly through charitable giving to nonprofits. Whether you donate $10 or $10,000, if you follow the seven steps of our giving checklist, your results will be stronger and longer-lasting.

  1. Determine what causes to support.
    The first step is figuring out, “What do I care about the most?”
  2. Focus your efforts.
    There are millions of wonderful nonprofits around the world, but you can’t support them all. If you would like to make a deeper impact, consider giving larger amounts to a handful of organizations you trust.
  3. Do some research.
    If you are having a tough time developing your own portfolio of trusted nonprofits, a little research might help you determine how to proceed.
  4. Budget your giving.
    When creating your giving budget, think through how much you might like to donate in the coming year.
  5. Give consistently.
    Becoming a recurring donor means that the nonprofit you support can rely on your contributions month after month or year after year and make more strategic decisions about its future.
  6. Consider how you can add value in other ways.
    You might be able to help by volunteering your time and skills or even becoming a board member.
  7.  Don’t get tripped up by charitable giving myths.
    An important part of becoming an impactful philanthropist is separating charitable giving myths—like the idea that you can judge the impact of a nonprofit by the amount it spends on overhead—from reality.

Read the full article on the impact philanthropist checklist by GlobalGiving. Access the complete Smart Giving 101 guide here.