The Ripple Effect of Generosity: How Intentional Giving Maximizes Impact

When people think about financial goals, generosity isn’t usually at the top of the list. Building wealth, buying a new house, paying off debt, or retiring are quite common. But for some, generosity is a deeply held value, and they want to but aren’t sure how to intentionally build it into their financial plan. At The Dala Group, generosity matters. We see it as a meaningful financial goal, right alongside security and freedom.

What If Everyone Gave Just a Little More?

The average American household gives between 2 and 4% of income each year.[1] That’s a start, but what if we challenged ourselves?

• Ending world hunger would take about $40 billion annually.[2]

• Providing clean drinking water and sanitation to every person on earth would cost about $150 billion over 10 years.[3]

Now imagine if every U.S. household gave 5% of its income.[4] The collective impact could wipe out hunger, provide clean water, and still leave billions for healthcare, housing, education, and more, not through government budgets, but through millions of households choosing generosity.

It’s staggering to think about: problems that have felt unsolvable for generations could actually be within reach if all of us leaned harder into generosity.

Once You’ve Decided to Give, Be Strategic

Sometimes the most powerful strategy is the most straightforward. Automating generosity, like committing to a monthly child sponsorship or setting up recurring donations, is a pure form of intentionality. It keeps giving consistent, and reminds you to think about the causes you care about each time the draft hits your account.

Now, if you’re already committed to giving, here’s a bonus: there are smart ways to do it so more of your money reaches the causes you care about. Charities don’t pay taxes, but you do. With the following strategies, you can redirect money that would have gone to taxes into the mission.

Here are a few of the most effective tax-aware charitable giving tools available:

• Gift appreciated stock instead of cash
  Suppose you want to give $10,000. If you sell stock first to generate cash for the gift, you could owe hundreds or a couple of thousand in capital gains taxes, leaving less for the charity. But if you donate the stock directly, the charity sells it tax-free, you avoid the gain, and you still get a deduction. Win-Win-Win! Head to our YouTube channel to learn more about gifting appreciated stock.

• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
  If you’re age 70½ or older, you can give directly from your IRA to a qualified charity. This counts toward your required minimum distribution (RMD) but isn’t taxed as income. That means lower taxable income, and the charity gets the whole piece of the pie you give, instead of you having to account for the taxes you’ll owe in addition to the gift. Click here to watch our Founder and CEO, Mike Heatwole, dive further into this topic.

• Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
  Think of these like a “generosity account.” You can contribute (in cash or appreciated assets) in one year, take the deduction right away, and then recommend grants from the fund to various charities over time. This is great for families that have years with higher-than-usual income or who aren’t sure where they want the funds to go yet, but want to dedicate them now.

New Law Makes It Easier for Everyone

For all its imperfections, the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) legislation has just made tax-aware giving more accessible.

Starting in 2026, households that don’t itemize can deduct up to $1,000 (single) or $2,000 (married) of cash gifts each year. This means millions of people who have never seen a direct tax benefit from their giving will now get one.

For many households, that could be the nudge to start giving in a consistent way.

Two Quick Examples

I want to explain the real dollar-value benefit of a couple of these strategies with two quick illustrations.

How Donated Stock Sends More

John and Mary had planned to give $10,000 to their favorite nonprofit this year. Their first thought was to write a check. But instead, they donated $10,000 of stock they had purchased years ago for $4,000.

• If they sold the stock first, they would owe capital gains tax on the $6,000 of growth. At a 15% rate, that’s $900 to the IRS. The charity would only see the after-tax amount.

• By donating the stock directly, the nonprofit received the full $10,000. John and Mary avoided the $900 tax bill and still qualified for a charitable deduction.

The charity got $10,000 instead of $9,100, and John and Mary redirected nearly a thousand dollars away from taxes and into the mission they love.

How a QCD is a Win-Win

Susan is 74 and must take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from her IRA. This year, her RMD is $20,000. She doesn’t need the money for living expenses, and if she takes it as income, she’ll owe about $4,400 in federal taxes (at a 22% bracket), which might push her income to the point where she pays more in Medicare premiums.

Instead, Susan used a QCD to send $20,000 directly from her IRA to three charities she supports.

• None of it showed up in her taxable income.

• The charities received the full $20,000.

• Susan avoided paying $4,400 in taxes.

More money went to her chosen causes, and none went to the IRS.

A Story of Real Impact

I know a young woman in India who has a heart for children and helping those living in slum conditions have at least a small amount of decency and support. She isn’t anyone of means and only receives about $300 per month in ministry support. She takes those gifts, subsists on a minimal lifestyle, and shares with all those who cross her path, as many as she can. What if you found others like that to support where the gift multiplies?

Back to the Why

Generosity is not about tax brackets or clever strategies. Those are tools. The “why” is bigger. It’s about saying, “This world is better when I share, and I want my financial plan to reflect that.”

So here’s my encouragement: don’t wait until someday. Put generosity in your plan today. Give intentionally. Give strategically. And see the ripple it creates.

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Footnotes

[1] Giving USA Foundation, Giving USA 2024: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2023, researched and written by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
[2]World Food Programme USA – How Much Would It Cost to End World Hunger? https://www.wfpusa.org/news/how-much-would-it-cost-to-end-world-hunger/
[3] World Bank – The Costs of Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2016/09/01
[4] This estimate assumes approximately 131 million U.S. households (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 data) with a median household income of $80,610 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023), yielding a collective 5% donation of roughly $524 billion annually.