The servicemen and servicewomen who have laid their lives on the line in the pursuit of a better and brighter tomorrow often return home from the war they fought to find themselves facing a new, internal battle. Within 4 months of returning home, nearly a third of all soldiers will develop mental health problems; these problems commonly include anxiety disorders, clinical depression, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  These mental health problems, on top of all of the difficulties and emotional burdens of war, led 20% of returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan to develop drug or serious drinking problems, and saw 22 veteran suicides per day in 2010.

Because of the long-term emotional and psychological burdens that accompany those who return from combat, it is often difficult for our servicepeople to hold jobs or properly take care of themselves. This means they often rely on public services and programs like the VA to help them in times of need. They can also turn to the aid of some of the philanthropies and charities around the country who work to help those who have served. Here are just a few of the organizations whose efforts help to benefit our nation’s veterans.

• Adaptive Sports Foundation
  • Although this group was created for children with cognitive and developmental disabilities, a branch of the ASF organization called Warriors in Motion works in conjunction with the Wounded Warrior Project to offer veterans relaxation and rejuvenation packages that include golf programs, ski and snowboard excursions, sports retreats, and more.
• Fisher House Foundation
  • The Fisher House Foundation was established to help the loved ones of military servicemen and women while the veteran is receiving medical services. The homes are located nationwide, nearby VA medical centers and hospitals to allow the families all of the amenities of living at home for free close by.
• The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund
  • This fund, established in the year 2000, has provided the families of military servicepeople with over $200 million worth of benefits and support in the years since. They also offer assistance for medical care to help the soldiers continue to lead fulfilling lives, in or out of the line of duty.

Mission

The best approach to a successful fundraiser is having a cause you’re extremely passionate about. Your passion and excitement will be infectious to donors and volunteers alike. This type of excitement cannot be faked either. Additionally, the more you care about the cause, the harder you’ll work.

Budget

Set a reasonable budget and stick to it. Going over budget only cuts into the money that gets donated at the end of the day. If you’re especially frugal, you may even be able to come in under budget. No matter what, plan ahead and cut out any and all unnecessary costs. The more money you can donate at the end of the day the better.

Multiple ways to give

Make sure your fundraiser has multiple ways to give. Ticket sales to attend the event are great, but some donors will spend more money if they can, so give them a way to do so! Things like raffles and silent auctions are fantastic ways to bring in more money. They also make it fun for those attending the event, so it’s a no brainer!

Leadership

Successful fundraising is not a one person operation. It is going to take a whole crew of people to make a large impact. With that in mind, make sure you have yourself a solid leadership team. The fundraiser will only go as well as the leadership behind it can provide. Assemble a team of equally enthusiastic, hardworking individuals. Trying to take it on alone will be overwhelming and hinder the outcome, so make sure you grab yourself the best team you can find!

Find ways to help out while cleaning out.

• Move your spring cleaning up a bit and go through your old belongings that you no longer use and donate them! A few weeks before Christmas, take a day or two and go through any old junk you have lying around to see what you can give to help others. Great items to donate include blankets, gently used clothing, books, toys, and so on. This practice can help your children cut back on materialism throughout the holidays by seeing their old toys and belongings go to people who need them more.

Spread your cheer through the neighborhood.

• The holidays can be a lonely time of year for people whose loved ones have passed on or whose families have other plans occupying their time. Why not teach your children the value giving their time and company rather than money by visiting the elders in your community and sharing your merriment with them. You can also get the whole family involved in baking cookies and then distributing them throughout your community.

Forego some presents.

• In 2015, the average person spent $830 on Christmas presents for their loved ones, and for parents, most of that money was likely spent on presents for the children. Let your children see how far just a little money could go for someone living in poverty, especially in developing countries, by taking a portion of the money you usually spend on gifts and donating it to an organization like Samaritan’s Purse where just $7 can provide a child with a week’s worth of hot meals. Let them pick out the gifts themselves to get them really involved and feel as though they’ve personally made a difference in the lives of others.

Around the holidays, even the smallest bit that you do can make a world of difference in the lives of people who struggle to survive each passing day. Help improve their wellbeing while also teaching your children the value of helping others and how good it can feel to be selfless by looking for ways to get your children involved in giving during the holiday season.

1. There’s a physiological response in our bodies to giving.
   • While it absolutely seems to be a paradox, when we give to others, the pleasure centers and reward areas of our brains light up, but get this — our brains light up the same way they would if we were the receiver of the gift, not the one giving it. A 2008 study from Harvard Business School found that giving money to others lifted the levels of happiness of participants more than it did if they spent the money on themselves. This is because your body produces boosts of endorphins during acts of generosity that make us feel good about ourselves and others, the same kind of feeling describes as a “runner’s high.”
2. Giving is good for your health.
   • Studies have shown that helping others has numerous positive effects on your body, most notably in the brain and the heart. Giving helps us physically by lowering our blood pressure (especially when the volunteer is elderly) and stress levels through providing a sense of appreciation and meaning in our lives. Giving is also good for your mental health, and has been linked to decreasing depression in volunteers.
3. We feel better about ourselves when we volunteer.
   • Giving to others in any form has been shown to increase not only the volunteer’s self-esteem, but also their overall satisfaction in life. People who volunteer experience a boost in mood, feel physically healthier, and feel less stressed out overall. Giving to others has been shown to promote gratitude in our own lives by helping us “count our blessings” and explore how much in our lives we truly have to be thankful for. When you feel as though you have so little, seeing how much the little you have can do in the life of someone who has even less, it puts things into perspective.
4. We help ourselves by helping others.
   • There’s an old saying that goes “you can’t help someone up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.” In the process of giving, we gain from others as much as they gain from us, especially for causes that hit close to home. If you were victimized by something in your life and then you go on to become an advocate for those affected, you’re helping yourself through the battle as much as you’re helping others and empowering them to give themselves a different outcome.

1. The cause hits close to home.
   • This can be in both a figurative and a literal sense; people are more likely to help out a cause in an area near them, and people are going to feel drawn to causes that raise awareness and benefit particular hardships they’ve personally endured. Consider if you were raised in the foster system — as an adult, you would likely want to benefit other children who are currently sharing in that experience.
2. They’re looking to make a difference.
   • In times of crisis, it’s easy to feel powerless in the face of calamity. For this reason, people often choose to give their money because they are looking to affect positive change and make lives better for a specific group of individuals. If you are moved by the plight of an impoverished nation, you’re going to seek out ways that your donation can directly benefit them and improve their lives.
3. They want to give back to something that benefited them.
   • If a particular cause or organization made a lasting impact on your life in one way or another, you’re likely going to want to give back once you’re financially able; for example, if your house were to burn down and you receive assistance from the Salvation Army or the Red Cross, you’re going to be more likely to make a routine of donating to them in an attempt to give back and show gratitude for all the help you were given.
4. They want to preserve a legacy.
   • Many academic and athletic scholarships are given in honor of — and in the name of — a loved one as a way to preserve their memory long after their lives are over. Some people choose to start scholarships or grants to donate to people or organizations that help to carry on the vision of the loved one who has passed away. Other people, like Bill and Melinda Gates, have decided to use their incredible wealth to build one of the world’s largest nonprofits so that their money could keep helping others long after they’re gone.

There are many reasons why people choose to give to charity, but the important thing to remember is that people give with their hearts and not their heads. That’s not to say that people are going to give mindlessly; rather, people are more likely to give to causes that appeal to their emotions and their basic human instincts.

They give more.

Millennials may not have as much disposable income as those of the generations above them, but it certainly is not hindering their giving. An astounding 84 percent of millennials donated to charity in 2014 alone. That’s a lot of giving. Those donations also averaged to about $481 per person. These young adults are making a huge difference in shaping philanthropy.

They volunteer more.

Young adults are not just giving money, they are volunteering their time too. It’s estimated that over 70 percent of millennials are volunteering in some capacity. They don’t just volunteer at the first place they can find either. Most millennials look for areas that they can use their skills to maximize their time and do the most good.

Influenced by social media.

It’s probably not much of a surprise, but millennials are heavily influenced by their peers and social media. Remember the ALS ice bucket challenge? It was a viral social media campaign that caused an enormous influx of donations to the ALS Association. This was only one campaign, but social media shed light on the cause and millennials stepped up to the plate with their smartphones and their wallets.

Issue based donors.

Lastly, millennials are often issue based donors. They donate their time and money to causes they feel strongly about. Largely, these causes are social issues or things pertaining to children. Millennials also do their homework when it comes to their donations. They want to know how the money is going to be used before they are ready to give. They understand it’s not enough to simply give, you need to be giving to causes you believe in.

Millennials are the largest living generation to date. By 2020, they will make up 50 percent of the workforce and be a third of the adults living in the US. These numbers are huge and so is the impact they have. As they come into more money and settle into careers, we are going to see their efforts make even more of a wave than we already are.

We feel most strongly connected with those closest to us.

In terms of intimacy as well as geographical distance, we are more likely to give to causes or victims that are close to us than we are to help long-distance. Australian philosopher Peter Singer noted that, while Americans generously gave over $1.5 billion in disaster relief to the victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, their donation during Hurricane Katrina of $6.5 billion  was more than four times as much; to put this into perspective, 1,600 people were killed during Hurricane Katrina while 220,000 were killed in the tsunami. Our overwhelming interest in helping only those closest to us has lead to only 5% of the country’s donations being sent to help on an international level. While you may not feel as though you need to give because your home is not directly being affected by a tragedy or plight, there are countless people out there who are and could greatly benefit from your help.

“I need my money for my family.”

Providing for your family and those dependent on you should always be your number one concern when it comes to money. However, even between bills, loans, and saving for the future, there are ways that you can still contribute without digging into your family’s future. First, look for little expenditures in life you could give to others instead; maybe give up your morning coffee one day a week and set that money aside for charity. Next, identify charitable organizations that have a track record of being reliable and effective, then target your donations to them for the maximum impact for your dollar.

We don’t think our contribution makes a difference.

In times of crisis, it’s not uncommon to see celebrities or other public figures donating tens of thousands of dollars towards the cause, which can make your $10 or $20 donation feel irrelevant. However, in some of the most impoverished nations, the smallest donations can make a huge impact. In fact, the organization Project Healthy Children (PHC) has developed a fortification operation that can feed a person for an entire year for less than a dollar. With the varying costs of living around the world, a small amount of money in the United States can go a long way in other countries in need.

We assume someone else will do it.

Often referred to as the “bystander effect,” we as humans have a tendency to believe that, even if we don’t lend a hand, there’s someone else who will pick up the slack. This belief allows us to quiet our consciences and feel as though we contributed by giving thought to helping without actually helping at all. Instead of letting the burden of responsibility fall to someone else, be proactive and affect change by helping out in whatever way you can.

1. Determine what you can offer. If you want to volunteer, make sure that you don’t stretch yourself too thin trying to do too much. Ask yourself questions like: How much of my time can I give on a weekly or monthly basis? What am I willing to do, and what am I not willing to do? What do I want to take away from this experience? Make sure that you’re being realistic about your goals and honest with yourself about what you’re actually able to do.
2. Find a charity whose efforts match your philanthropic passions. For example, if you’re passionate about helping animals, do your homework; if your goal is to help them find homes, then you may want to locate a no-kill shelter. Identify what you hope to accomplish by volunteering, and find organizations that meet the same goals.
3. Stick to your commitment. You start out saying that you’re going to volunteer every night of the week, but it very quickly slips back to one night a week at best due to other commitments and time constraints. If you choose to volunteer, be reasonable about your commitment and when you make one, stick to it! If you’re constantly being a no-show volunteer, you’re doing more damage to the organization than if you had been realistic from the start.
4. Look at where your time and money will go. A 2013 study revealed that 50 of the worst charities in America devoted less than 4% of their donations to direct cash aid — something to which many people believe their entire donation goes. Before you select a charitable organization to donate your time or money, do your research. Find out how much of what you give will directly benefit the cause you’re trying to help and how your efforts will directly impact it as well.

Volunteering is more than something that you should do, it needs to be something that you want to do. Finding a cause that speaks to you and committing your time to helping it can engage you in ways that nothing ever will.