The Pentera Blog
Need a Gift Idea? How About a Gift of Giving?
Having trouble thinking of the right gift for someone? How about giving them the gift of helping someone else?
Personal experience and academic studies have shown that most of us truly enjoy helping others, and the good feeling we get from being generous often lasts much longer than the happiness we experience receiving a gift. Now, yet another survey has reinforced our understanding that people actually prefer giving to receiving.
According to a fall 2021 survey published by Fidelity Charitable, 59% of those questioned said they would prefer to have a donation made in their honor to their favorite charity than receive a traditional holiday gift.
Nonprofit organizations have long made it possible to make a donation in honor of someone else. But, today, many are also taking full advantage of technology to make this kind of giving easier than ever. For example, several charities make it a snap to make a donation in the name of another individual on their websites, and some even allow you to quickly and easily send attractive ecards announcing your gift. Going a step further, other websites offer donation gift cards. With these you purchase and personalize a gift card, but your gift recipient gets to spend the card—choosing from a long list of qualified nonprofit organizations.
None of this means traditional gift giving is going away anytime soon. Most of us still enjoy the fun of wrapping and opening presents. But, it may be wise to remember that the gift of giving often provides the greatest joy and longest lasting satisfaction.
Read the full Fidelity Charitable study here. See previous research on the subject here.
