Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think.
Gautama Buddha
Giving is a basic aspect of human nature. When you give to charity, or you are searching for charities to donate to, you are not only helping someone in need, but you’re also doing something to be proud of. But giving or donating to any cause inherently comes with a few questions.
How do I choose a charity? Does my part just end with the donation? What happens to my donation once it’s in the charity’s hands? How much should I give? Why should I give to charity?
All these questions run through our minds, and it doesn’t make you a bad person to wonder such things. Wanting to make sure that the intention of your donation leads to something fruitful is only normal.
This article is aimed to help you answer some of those questions. Let’s take a look.
Find Your Passion
Donating to charity comes from the head and the heart. It helps to be knowledgeable about the charity to which you wish to give, and it’s even more rewarding when it’s a cause that you’re passionate about.
Nowadays, there’s a charity for everything. Some have been around for ages, some are brand new. This can make pinpointing and researching a charity extremely difficult. Where do you begin?
Well, this could be one time in life where it’s a good idea to guide your head, with your heart. You may be passionate about women’s rights, animals, children who are suffering, the environment, or like OpenMIND, you may hold dear the issue of mental illness and mental health awareness.
Wherever your passion lies, that is the cause that you will most likely feel most fulfilled about donating to. Obviously giving to charity doesn’t have to be limited to one particular cause. If you are passionate about multiple causes, you could split your donations between different charities.
Do your research
Once you have found a cause that you’re passionate about, you can begin doing your research on the different types of charities associated with it. We advise doing your research well.
While you may be doing something good and kind, not everyone in the world holds true to that same virtue. There are people who prey on those who are kind hearted, and they use this as a way to get money for their own selfish gain.
This is not a means to deter you from giving, but rather to make you aware. Research the charities to which you are hoping to donate to. Use your discernment to see if they are reputable, how long they have been around for, and if they are transparent about what they use funds and donations for. If you’re in any doubts, contact them or speak to organizations and people associated with them.
You could also check to see if they are registered, but note that only about 40 states require a charity to be registered before it can solicit donations, and there could be additional factors which don’t require registration.
An established reputation
Finding a cause that has an established reputation will make the process of donating far easier.
An easy place to initially gauge a charity’s reputation is online. Search for any reviews or complaints, visit their Google My Business profile if they have one and see what people are saying about them on social media and other community websites.
If they operate in your local community, speak to your friends, family and other community members to find out what they’ve heard about the charity.
Pop-up charities
In some cases, when there is a natural disaster, relief support and other charities will ‘pop-up’ immediately. In these cases it’s specifically important to validate the authenticity of the charity as there are many fake causes that arise during these times to take advantage of the kindness of others.
It’s for this reason that you should never give in haste, but rather take some time in deciding where to donate to. A lot of legitimate ‘pop-up’ charities are inevitably linked to larger organizations that have a trustworthy history. An example of this would be the ‘GoFundMe’ campaigns that celebrities start to support a short-term crisis. There’s typically a commitment to donate all proceeds from the campaign to a larger charity like the Red Cross, Food Bank and other causes.
Many ways to give
Donating doesn’t always have to hold a monetary value. Instead, you could consider giving to charity by doing volunteer work, helping out in your free time, and even donating resources or skills. These are great and valuable ways of contributing to a charity that you are passionate about.
On the plus side, being passionate about a charity will make volunteering more enjoyable! If you love animals, donating your time to an animal shelter will be the highlight of your week.
Each year we’re blown away by the generous time and energy that volunteers put into organizing our annual fundraiser, The LeeWok Music and Arts Festival. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to volunteer in some way.
Transparency is important
While your part in charity typically starts with making the decision to give, and ends with the actual act of giving, you are still entitled to know exactly where your donations are going to be used. Most charity organizations are extremely transparent about their activities and that allows full disclosure to the person who is giving.
At OpenMIND, we provide full transparency into the activities that your donations help support. Your donations help us create awareness for mental health in and around North Dakota. Facing many challenges as a community, with alarming rates of suicide, we saw the silent battles that many were facing after we lost our own brother, Lee.
Creating awareness and creating a platform for those struggling to share and voice their feelings, is extremely important. That is why we partner with like-minded organizations that are funded by your donations to charity and support.
Historically, donations have gone to collaborations with Heidi Woods from Mindful You Mindful Me, and Kayla Helenske from Expressive Journeys to invest in various initiatives focused on helping children to build strong internal mental health resources. By building a mentally healthy youth we can build a healthier future.
One of our own initiatives aims to instill mental health practices from an early age. And what better way to do so than to start in local schools. Through our Room to Breathe project we create a calming space for teachers to practice mindfulness and work on their own mental health.
The results have been fantastic and those changed mindsets and new practices then overflow into the classrooms and the lives of the young children they care for. The Room to Breathe project opens up conversions and opportunities to have a greater positive impact on future generations.
We also direct donations and time into expanding our reach and awareness across social media and online through our website, as well as compiling resources that are freely and readily available for those who may be seeking help.
Why OpenMIND
If you find yourself passionate about mental health, we at OpenMIND share that passion. We aim to create awareness in North Dakota and make it normal to talk about the things that are typically hard for us to share. Mental illness and personal struggles are not something to be ashamed of, but rather something that needs to be supported. If each one of us is healthy, the community is healthy.
With our community being ravaged by Seasonal Affective Disorder each year and with a suicide rate that has increased by 70% in the past decade, North Dakota could really use your help. Consider donating to OpenMIND and help someone fight an unseen battle.