What standards should we set for ourselves when giving alms?

Having already posted my thoughts on fasting during Lent, I now turn my attention to one of Lent's other key components: alms giving.

Having spent more than five years in fundraising and development, I tend to think about the topic on a pretty regular basis. I have a strange fondness for considering the needs of the Church and its apostolates and attempting to discern what my family's role in meeting those needs is.

How Much Should We Donate?
It's a tricky line to walk. On one hand, there is the obvious temptation to give little. I've got a mortgage and student loans to pay off, right? On the other hand, there can also be a temptation to give imprudently or to give large amounts of money due to spiritual pride.

I've always had an admiration for the practice of tithing--giving a particular percentage of one's income to charity. In 2012, I was blessed with a pretty good year and was able to donate a certain percentage of my income that I'd long hoped to contribute.

Less than a quarter of the way through 2013, however, I doubt I'll be able to meet that mark this year. My savings has been hit by the demise of both my water softener and water heater this winter. And my cash flow has been hit by a new baby and enrolling my elder son in Catholic school.

Looking at Alternative Means of Giving
My own household budget has led me to wonder if the tithing/percentage model--as admirable as it is--is the most sensible way for a Catholic to donate. Perhaps we might consider looking at a more general approach to stewardship. For example, if my wife and I didn't struggle with infertility, I imagine we might have more children. Now that would almost certainly make an impact on our financial contributions. But when married couples welcome a multitude of children into the world, it's certainly a greater display of generosity than donating money would be. Tithing, as noble and admirable as it is, pales in comparison to what a friend once described to me as "generous fecundity."

Furthermore, the tithing model also fails to account for other ways in which we can be good stewards of our financial blessings. For example, I purchase my life insurance through the Knights of Columbus. I've been given cheaper quotes from other companies but I've chosen to continue patronizing the KCs for three reasons:
  • They invest responsibly according to the social teachings of the Church;
  • I know the local agents, who actively support the Church, the diocese and local causes that I believe in; and
  • The profits are donated to Catholic causes.
I've taken the same approach with other expenses, patronizing Catholics within my community to the greatest extent possible. If I decided to aim for the cheapest rates possible, I could probably donate a greater percentage of my income, but the Church, my community and the world would not be better off for it.

How Do You Determine How Much to Donate?
Obviously, I think our financial stewardship as Catholics cannot be determined solely by the raw percentage of income contributed to the Church and to charity. We should take openness to life, sending children to Catholic schools, seeking Catholic health care, and responsible consumerism into consideration.

But that still doesn't provide us with any sort of model or guidelines in determining how much to give. What do you think?

Is there any sort of model of formula that Catholics should follow? Is it even possible to distill charitable giving down to a formula? How do you decide how much to contribute?

1 comment:

Cris said...

Being rather lazy - I use the simple 10% guideline financially. This year that includes my niece's rather large legal bills. I also make sure to include a "volunteer time" component though (Sunday school teaching, youth group assistance etc) of at least an hour a week. Nice article.