Charitable organizations provide valuable support for the communities in which they operate. Charities work to feed the hungry, provide educational support and assistance, counseling and health care services for children and adults at risk. The money that you give to charities comes back to you in the form of safer communities, employment opportunities for teens, and care and assistance for the elderly. There is a relationship that exists between the amount given to charitable organizations and what these organizations return to their community in terms of valuable support and services.
It is important to understand how the support you give to charitable organizations is crucial for these organizations to sustain the work they do. Without your financial support, charitable organizations would not be able to continue providing the vital services that help improve the quality of life for all of us. Charities give back to the communities they serve by providing those services that may not otherwise be provided by other types of organizations, such as government departments and agencies. Here is a discussion about the importance of charitable support and the benefits charitable organizations provide to society.
How Charitable Organizations Help the Community
What charities give to the communities they serve can be measured in both tangible and intangible benefits. Americans, according to the annual Giving USA report compiled by Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, gave $335 million in 2013. This amount represents a 3 percent hike from the donations in 2012. This amount was distributed (on a percentage basis) to religious organizations (31 percent), education (16 percent), human services organization (12 percent) and those organizations that make grants to other organizations (11 percent).
It is also important to note that nearly 65 million adults provided approximately 8 billion hours in volunteer hours to charitable organizations. The value of this volunteerism for 2013 was valued at $175 billion or $22.55 per volunteer hour. These hours provided tangible benefits in terms of the collection and distribution of food, providing tutoring and teaching assistance and in general labor and transportation services. What this means is that charitable organizations were able to impact the lives of millions of individuals who required the services they offer, through direct aid and volunteerism.
Society’s Cost to Provide the Services of Charitable Organizations
Without charitable organizations, the support services they provide would need to be performed by government agencies at a cost of at least $175 billion (in terms of the value of volunteer hours performed in 2013 alone). The void left by the absence of charitable organizations would have to be filled by increased taxes and less flexibility to meet the needs of those people most vulnerable in our society.
It is clear that charitable organizations give back to society in ways that can be quantified and also in ways that are immeasurable. As an example, organizations that work with at-risk youth and successfully guide an adolescent toward college or career and away from substance abuse and violence, reduces the number of potential convicts or continued recipients of government-led social services. This newly adjusted citizen has a greater potential to become a tax-paying citizen who contributes to society, as oppose to taking resources that may be best used elsewhere.
