Talented people can make dramatic positive change happen relatively quickly when they have good strategy and are well-funded.
I firmly believe that you should give some portion of your income to causes you believe in. My personal goal is to give 10%, invest 10%, and save 10% of my income before I allocate my spending budget.
In other words, if I make $100 after taxes, then I want to give myself a $70 budget (maximum) after doing what’s actually important to me.
Now, we know that there is likely some income threshold most people want to cross before giving feels comfortable (even though giving has benefits regardless of income level). We also know that money stops making us happier after we cross $75,000 in annual income.
Studies also suggest that spending money on others, as well as charitable giving, makes us happier than spending money on ourselves. Similarly, happy people give more to charity than unhappy people. And finally, people who give regularly are more likely to see an increase in earning power.
So, if you have an annual income of $75,000, and an effective tax rate of 30%, then you are left with $52,500 a year, or $4,375 per month. At that income level, you would allocate $437 each to charity, investing, and saving. This would leave you with $3,064 for your budgetary requirements each month.
And remember, giving makes you richer, so not only would you be funding change, you would also benefit personally over time.
Many people feel emotionally drained by the challenges of our times. Many people want to see change. Not many people choose to fund that change in a significant way. You could be one of them. Why not start now? (But make it count.)