Giving it all away.

I remember my first charitable donation as a child, to the local football team, the Warilla Gorillas for their raffle. It wasn't much, after all how much disposable income can you have from a dollar a week pocket money. Still it felt good to help, even a little, and I got to go to a game free of charge for my largess. When it came round to doing it again a friend, much more grown up, added his piece of wisdom and told me when I start earning real money I can write that donation off my tax.

Something to look forward to, I thought, but then I didn't have a clue what a tax deduction was anyway. Yet the good feeling of helping, no matter how small, stayed with me even when I eventually figured out the labyrinth of tax deductions. If you think about it, why does a government need to incentivise people to give to charities, why aren't people giving anyway?

Sometimes they just have to be shown how it's done. Forbes has released its list of the biggest givers globally and the names of Gates and Buffet and Turner and Bloomberg shine brightly with donations exceeding one billion dollars each. It is not an easy list to make and requires donations exceeding 1 billion dollars to be from private wealth, not company shares or family trusts. So 19 givers of over a billion dollars are led by Bill Gates, who gets the monicker of "the most generous man on the planet", having donated 28 billion of his own money and giving us all a reason to feel good about buying that next piece of Microsoft software.

As interesting as it is, to take a peak into the lifestyles of the uber rich and their philanthropy, the act if giving cannot be left up to them. Australia as a whole is a country that gives beyond its capacity, as every natural disaster testifies. Yet the recent government initiative to bench mark charities, showing how much money is eaten up in administration fees, will give many pause to think, how best to donate their hard earned dollars and to whom.

Still there are alternatives to giving the dollar as the only option. It seems we are often inundated from street side stalls to railway spruikers, to splashy ad campaigns and black tie dinners showing the charity arena touches everyone all the time. It seems less time between charity Fridays than Christmas toys and Easters eggs at the local supermarket. I know the feeling when walking past another giving opportunity, wishing I had more dollars to make a difference. Yet it's not always about the dollars and often you can make more of a difference, especially to those around you, with the most precious thing you have, time.

So can earn you another dollar? Of course you can, but you can't get back the last 10 minutes, so spend them wisely and give them generously. While the boys are giving all their dollars away, you can do the same with your most expensive gift, time. Be the most generous you can and Bill Gates won't hold a candle to you.