Giving, gifts and other paths
Donating to charity, giving privately or keeping your money: thoughts on different paths and the freedom to decide for yourself.
Charity is wonderful. But it isn't the only option.
Anyone who wants to pass money on can support a charity or choose to make a private gift. What draws people to these different paths, and why they don't have to compete with each other.
Read article
Giving money outside the family: a personal decision
Parents support their children, relatives help one another. For many people, that is the most natural way to give money away. But private gifts aren't limited to the family. Anyone who wants to give is entitled to their own ideas, without having to look down on other people's choices.
Read article
A gift of money doesn't have to save the world
Giving money away without being able to point to a charitable mission? To some people, that seems to need a surprising amount of explaining. Yet a private gift can be an entirely personal decision. Even when the recipient isn't running an aid project.
Read article
I want your money. That's why I'm telling you.
A stranger is offering to accept a large private gift. At first that sounds pretty cheeky. I am that stranger. And I want to explain why I'm making my offer public, even though I hardly expect anyone to take me up on it.
Read article
Donation or gift: what's the legal difference?
Giving money to a charity or giving it to someone personally: both can be voluntary. Legally and for tax purposes, though, they aren't the same thing. Why the difference matters, and why there's no simple global formula for international gifts.
Read article