As we close out yet another year, it’s a moment to reflect and look to the future. What did we accomplish? What were our challenges? And, what do we want to do differently in the coming year to help make the world a better place? 

At Giving Compass, we are taking this time to reflect on our impact over the last 12 months and consider how to exponentially increase our role as a bridge between impact-driven nonprofits and curious donors. In 2021, we responded to major events and crises and connected over 30,000 users to actionable resources. We connected 9,000 users to giving opportunities with organizations that center equity, effectiveness, and systems change. And, we also developed issue-specific topic guides -- deep dives into the complexities of the systems that cause disparities and the effects on disenfranchised communities -- that motivated more than 6,500 users to take informed action.

As we look to 2022, we are eager to support intentional, strategic giving with the technological solutions we champion. We’ve recently released Giving Planner, a free online tool that combines the power of a financial planner and personalized charitable resources to help you give with impact to communities furthest from opportunity. 

Key Features:

  • Benchmarking: After you enter some basic information, the tool provides you with a benchmark to understand how your giving compares to others. It’s a great motivation to set your goals for the new year.
  • Learning Resources: You can select focus areas and access relevant content to help you expand your knowledge on specific causes and the practices of high-impact philanthropy-- you can also save what strikes you in your portal
  • Planning: The tool helps you organize and plan your giving and volunteering contributions, while also supporting the exploration of vetted nonprofits and issue funds in your community that align with your giving priorities. You can update your plan at any time.

While you may be focused on year-end giving (don’t forget to give from your Donor-advised Fund!), I encourage every impact-minded donor to consider what is coming up in the year ahead. While no one can predict every event in 2022, donors can direct dollars toward efforts to strengthen our democracy, build power in BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, and ensure we don’t further exacerbate the climate crisis.

For Giving Compass’s part, we have many upgrades in the pipeline to help you realize your giving goals. We hope you’ll continue to check back and let us know your thoughts and what you’d like to see on our site. You can reach us at philanthropy@givingcompass.org.