Charitable giving

Do you donate? When was your first time? If you actively donate, is it in your annual budget right underneath arroz?
by Talia Rodríguez

Y’all know I like definitions so here I go:

According to Americorps, charitable giving is measured when a resident gives money or possessions with a combined value of more than $25.00 to a non-political group or organization such as a charity, school, or religious organization in the past year.

Charitable giving is different from making political contributions. Which are made for a political organization or campaign.

Both charitable giving and political contributions are considered measures of civic engagement.

So if you donate, it is relevant to experts’ understanding of how invested you are in democracy, literally, and depending on your age, how well those targeted ads on your socials are hitting.

Americans gave $557.16 billion in 2023. This reflects a 2.1% decline from 2022. There are general trends, like how women give in lower amounts but give more frequently. Or how our baby boomers contribute the most to charity but younger generations give more to certain causes like disaster relief.

So, what about Latinos in New York? What impacts our specific communities’ desire to give? We know that the national state rate for charitable giving is 46.4% which is slightly higher than NY’s rate of 44%. We know Professional fundraisers in New York collected almost $1.5 billion in 2023. We also know The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy issued a report on Latino Philanthropy and its findings were:

“Latinx donors are more likely to involve children, grandchildren, and/or younger generations re decision making because Latinx donors commonly give based on values, interests, organizational connections, and identities.”

“The top priority causes for Latinx household charitable giving were 1) religious congregations; 2) food, shelter, and necessities; 3) healthcare and medical research; and 4) education.

They found Latinx households are significantly more likely to engage in informal giving compared to non-Latinx households.”

Informal giving is what many of us like to refer to as “doing the right thing” and or “being a good neighbor”.

Do you give to your community fridge, participate in meal trains for sick neighbors, contribute to friends’ child or senior care collectives, knit scarves for a mutual aid group, run the team carpool, pitch in for your cousins’ kids coming home, or college fund? Or do you volunteer with your office or on the weekends, or are you voluntold to run church functions because everyone in the congregation knows you are the best flan maker there is?

If you do, you give informally, which is considered a contribution both borne from cultural or religious traditions that emphasize community over the individual, a sense of togetherness, and sometimes a duty to society, and are those measurable, according to experts.

Organizations like Code Blue Buffalo, an emergency service offered to individuals living outside during the winter months when temperatures drop below 32 degrees rely on contributions.

Championed by Nadia Pizzaro, Owner and CEO at Nadia Pizarro Consulting LLC, and Felicia Cruz, Marine Corps veteran and Founder of Sylvia’s House, they battle freezing cold temperatures and advocate alongside our vulnerable and unhomed neighbors, many of whom are children.

Both Latina advocates hail from families with great legacies of public service. Cruz established her nonprofit Sylvia’s House, which implements Code Blue Buffalo, in honor of grandmother Sylvia Rodriguez, a dedicated community activist, social worker, and interpreter. The Sylvia’s House website chronicles Sylvia’s activism including her involvement in co-founding the Pucho Olivencia Center and serving on the board of the Hispanic Women’s League.

And as you think of donating to organizations like Code Blue Buffalo and others, remember, donations can look like whatever they mean to you. And sometimes those are the best kind.

Image of people taking containers with donations by Caleb Oquendo from pexels.com

Talia Rodriguez is a bi-racial, bi-cultural, and bi-lingual Latina from Buffalo. Ms. Rodriguez’s mission is to write about Latina’s, who have shaped the face of our city and our region. It is Ms. Rodriguez’s believes that our own people should inspire us and in telling our collective stories, we push our community forward. Ms. Rodriguez is a community advocate and organizer. She is a 5th generation West Sider, a graduate of SUNY Buffalo Law School, and an avid baseball fan. She lives on the West Side with her young son A.J… Ms. Rodriguez sits on the board of several organizations including the Belle Center, where she attended daycare. Ms. Rodriguez loves art, music, food, and her neighbors. You can send your comments or questions to talia.rodriguez.716@gmail.com.