Plan a charitable giving budget for the year.
Setting giving as a percentage of income makes it automatic and proportionate: the amount rises and falls with what you earn instead of relying on year-end impulses. Splitting the annual figure into monthly instalments makes it affordable, dividing it across causes stops the budget from being spread too thin, and adding an employer match shows the amount charities actually receive.
Giving budget
Yearly giving = annual income x giving share/100; total reaching charities = yearly giving x (1 + employer match/100)
Charitable giving may carry tax consequences that depend on your jurisdiction, the recipient's registered status and your own filing position. This tool plans a budget only and is not tax advice — confirm deductibility with a qualified adviser.
There is no universal figure; 1-3% is common, 10% reflects a religious tithing tradition. The point of a percentage is that it scales with income rather than needing to be renegotiated each year.
Charities strongly prefer regular monthly gifts because they make income predictable, and monthly instalments are easier to sustain from cash flow.
Many employers match a percentage of employee donations up to an annual cap. Registering a gift for matching is often the single largest multiplier available to a small donor.