Beyond considering the specific issues or causes you are giving to, have you paused to ask how to be more effective and fulfilled as a donor this year?
A few weeks ago, a friend asked on a listserv about how others were approaching their giving in the new year. They shared two great ideas: they’re taking a bit of a break in January to catch up after the December rush, and they’re seeking to hire some admin support for their giving.
Their email inspired me to pause and figure out my 2026 priorities as well, and I ended up with a whole bunch of “giving kickstart” prompts I hope you might find helpful.
But first, what did I end up doing? Honestly, I spend so much time focused on other people’s giving, I often fail to take stock of my own practices. When setting personal and professional goals for a new year, I often use this backward planning prompt: “If I were looking back at the year next New Year’s Eve, what would have happened that made me feel like it had been a good year?”
I had never really applied that prompt to my giving. I think about what issues I want to prioritize, which groups I want to renew support for, what pacing/timing, how to reduce restrictions, etc. but not about what would make me personally feel as if my giving had “gone well” at a deeper level. While I know I will give to a range of groups and issues and still think about all the process questions, I’m trying to think about one or two core goals that, if achieved, would make me feel content with and fulfilled by my 2026 giving.
I’ve landed on two personal goals for now. First, I got married in October, and this year I want to engage my husband David meaningfully in giving that had previously been just mine to decide. Second, I have been working toward launching the Fair Haven Alliance—a new effort to organize landlords as allies for housing justice—and will seed it with one of my personal largest 2026 gifts.
Focusing on the short term, I’ve made a practice in my life of making January resolutions instead of New Year’s resolutions to jump start the new year. I decided to do that for my giving this year and set two intentions. First, I will finish making discretionary gifts from my family foundation by the end of January. I can make these gifts at any point in the year, but moving money earlier supports grantees in their planning so that they can focus on accomplishing much-needed work. (I’m proud to report that I made these gifts last Wednesday!)
Second, I will shift all of my monthly recurring small donations over to my “giving credit card.” Last January, after years of meaning to, I finally opened a credit card exclusively for giving to streamline my financial tracking. I got some of my gifts shifted but lost momentum. This January I will finally finish!
Neither resolution is earth shattering. Instead they’re small manageable actions that give me a sense of accomplishment and momentum for the year.
If you’re thinking about how to kick your 2026 giving into gear, here are some suggestions you might pick from…I hope they help!
- Prepare for the year ahead by taking a pause – 2025 was a lot. And the first few weeks of the year have been intense from Venezuela to Minneapolis and more. We’re all feeling an urgency to jump in and respond, and I don’t want to dissuade you if that is where you are (thank you!). But if you need a break, consider giving yourself a month (or even a week) of formal permission to pause. On the giving front, set aside all asks.There will be many many more demands on your time and calls for your support in the months ahead, and restorative rest can help you come to those future demands in a better frame of mind.
- Take a moment to learn from the past – Another reality of the times we live in is that we’re moving at an always-on, always-racing pace. Have you paused to look back at what happened last year? You might review your giving to get ready for tax season, but have you looked back and asked if your giving matched your values? What gifts are you most proud of? What would you have done differently if you could? What opportunities did you miss? How will you take the lessons of last year into your plans and actions this year?
- Build momentum with 1-Month Resolutions – I’m personally not a fan of New Year’s resolutions; I rarely meet them. But maybe there are shorter resolutions. Maybe you need to start a legal process for future giving, schedule a time to talk with your kids about family giving, or double check the balance in your DAF or foundation to know how much you can give this year. What task can you begin or complete this month to get a head start on the year?
- Orient yourself by setting year long goals – While I personally don’t do annual resolutions, I do find goal setting helpful. What do you want your giving to look or feel like this year? Is there something you want to begin or change? A major milestone you want to achieve? A practice you want to shift? Think through how you give, how much you give, and what you give to and consider what shifts you might make this year on any front to align your giving more closely with your values.
- Keep yourself focused by drafting or revising your giving plan – We develop strategic plans for our organizations, academic plans for our education, and even meal plans for our health, but too few people develop any type of plan for their giving. Whether you take the time to write out just a one-page plan highlighting your goals, budget, priority issues, and groups or dive into a deeper plan for what and how you will give, the practice of developing a giving plan can lead to some of the most powerful clarifying moments in a donor’s journey. I have seen people go from undirected (and unfulfilling) giving to confident and effective donors in the creation of such a plan. And if, like me, you’ve previously created a giving plan, taking an hour or a weekend afternoon to review and update it will restore the focus and alignment you achieved when you first drafted your plan.
- Find an advisor or build a team to get the support you need – Especially if your giving is complicated or if you’re moving considerable funds each year, take a moment to honestly assess if it might be time to find an advisor or team. Perhaps you’d benefit from a quarterly meeting with an advisor or coach. Or you might find a consultant to help you do a one-time mapping of the field you most care about. Or you could gain from bringing on an assistant or even building a whole team to move money with care and intention. And if you’re not sure what support you need, you can even engage an advisor on a short-term basis to help you figure that out. (Feel free to reach out to us if we might be of help)!
- Find community to support your giving – For most of us, our giving decisions are private or made with our families, but that doesn’t have to be where the conversation ends. There are dozens of donor communities across the country where you can connect with others who share similar backgrounds, values, issue priorities, and more. You could also join or start a giving circle, connect with your local community foundation, or join a funder collaborative to move money together toward an issue you care about. These communities and networks offer the chance for learning, expanded impact, and support that I so often hear people wish for but imagine is impossible to find around a “taboo money topic.”
- Model generosity to the young people in your life – Another possibility is not to focus on changing your own giving but to use it as an opportunity to inspire those you love. This recent report from the Gates Foundation offers ideas on how to inspire generous giving for your kids and other young people in your life, from toddlers to teenagers or young adults. Perhaps there is a lesson to learn, a conversation to share, or a gift to make together that could bring more meaning to your giving and inspire the next generation at the same time.
Whatever actions you take, I hope you find an hour or an afternoon in the coming weeks to give yourself space to take stock of your giving and set some more intentional steps for the year to come. Just a little preparation and intention can dramatically change your giving experience for the better. And of course, if there are ways that our team at Ktisis Capital might help, always feel free to reach out.
