I went to a Catholic school growing up, where every student had to earn two hundred service hours in order to graduate. Though it wasn’t hard for me to meet the requirement, it mostly felt like one big “should.” As a result, when I entered my twenties, I automatically looked for ways to serve my community, not from a place of intention but one of obligation. Donating and volunteering were things that “good” people did, so I “should” do them. Eventually I realized that having a sense of true purpose around a particular cause would probably make the entire effort way more fulfilling. I did a little soul-searching and discovered I cared deeply about supporting public art, young writers, and technology for at-risk communities. I joined the young professionals’ board of my local art center and set up a recurring donation to two nonprofits, one that provided spoken word poetry workshops to teenagers and another that focused on coding classes for refugee students.
What specific causes matter to you? Which industries or fields do you have access to, and how can you make a difference? What’s your motivation for donating your time or money? Perhaps an answer comes to mind right away, which is great. If it doesn’t, spend a little time contemplating. Your why matters quite a bit. You can’t be all things to all people, and you probably don’t have unlimited time or money to devote, so consider how you can align your pocketbook or calendar to your sense of purpose. Pick an organization or causes that you feel strongly about, and come up with a few reasons as to why they matter to you.