Writing a little more here, I think everybody like me who has made *more* money this year than last really needs to step up. We've set a floor of 10% of gross income every year, and give mostly to direct-aid charities. If you need ideas, there are some below. https://twitter.com/tacertain/status/1343997850229776384

@lowernineorg - they provide direct aid to mostly Black homeowners in the New Orleans 9th ward who are still rebuilding after Katrina
@SolidGround - they provide a variety of services and direct aid (including rent assistance) to people in Seattle

@FoodLifeline - they are a Seattle-area food bank
@blackresiliency - they provide direct aid to Black Portlanders
@humanutility - they pay water bills for people who can't afford them

@GiveDirectly - they provide direct cash grants, mostly in other countries, but they also have a US COVID relief fund

In addition, I would encourage you to send direct aid to individuals, $20, $50, $100 at a time, as they come up on your feed.

Finally, if, like us, it can feel hard to find the time to figure out where to send your money, but you still want to set an annual goal, one option is a donor-advised fund. There are lots of reasons that these are problematic; however, there are some good things as well:

For years, we had that 10% goal, but it was hard to find the time to research charities, and my income was going up every year, so we often fell short. With the fund, though, every year when we do our taxes, we simply contribute 10% of my AGI to the fund.

Then if we don't grant it all in one year, it carries over. So for example, it means that this year we've been able to grant $250K to these direct-aid charities, at a time when it is really needed.

These funds are bad when the money just sits in them, for sure. But as long as you are making an effort to pay them down, they can be really helpful in holding you to your donation goals.