It is a sad fact: when the economy is suffering, hardest hit are charitable organizations, and the needy people who desperately rely on the services they provide. This at a time when these charitable causes have to expand their services to accommodate a sadly growing clientele.

In the U.S., nearly 94 percent of nonprofit fundraisers recently surveyed said that the economy is currently having a negative effect on fundraising. In Britain, one in three organizations expects to lay off staff within months, and corporate donations have fallen by twenty percent.

Though unfortunate, this begs the question: is it indeed inappropriate to scale back on charitable disbursements when times are tough, when we are curtailing our spending in so many other lifestyle areas?

That depends on how we view our contributions...

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