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Giving smart
- How much Americans give: charitable giving statistics for 2025 — Americans gave an estimated $617.2 billion in 2025, per Giving USA 2026. See who gives, where the money goes, and why the number of donors keeps shrinking.
- Charitable tax deductions: the basics, and what changes in 2026 — How charitable deductions work under IRS rules: qualified charities, receipts, the $250 and $500 thresholds, IRA QCDs, and the new 2026 non-itemizer deduction.
- Donor-advised funds vs. giving directly: which fits you? — What a donor-advised fund is, how the IRS treats it, the latest DAF numbers, and a side-by-side comparison with writing checks to charities directly.
- Effective giving: doing the most good with what you give — What effective giving means, how GiveWell estimates cost per life saved, pledges like the 10% pledge, fair critiques, and balancing heart and head.
- GivingTuesday: what it is, when it is, and how to make it count — GivingTuesday 2026 falls on December 1. Its history, the record 2025 results, ways to give beyond money, and how to avoid the scams that spike that day.
- How to vet a charity in 15 minutes, and spot the scams — A practical checklist for researching a charity before you donate: rating sites, the IRS search tool, Form 990s, the overhead myth and scam red flags.
- Workplace matching gifts: the easiest way to double what you give — How employer matching gifts and volunteer grants work, typical match ratios and limits, how to submit a request, and a checklist so no match goes unclaimed.
- Giving smart — How Americans give, how to check a charity before you donate, donor-advised funds, tax-deduction basics, GivingTuesday, matching gifts and effective giving.
- What food banks actually need most, and what to leave at home — Cash, shelf-stable protein, peanut butter and hygiene items top most food bank wish lists. Here's what to give, what to skip, and why money stretches further.
- Waste less, share more: what to do with extra food — Nearly a third of the U.S. food supply goes unsold or uneaten. Waste less at home, read date labels, and donate surplus safely under the Good Samaritan Act.
- How to organize a meal train that actually helps — How to set up a meal train for a new baby, illness or loss: scheduling, allergies, food-safety temps, freezer-friendly meals and drop-offs that don't overstay.
- How to organize a food drive that food banks will thank you for — A step-by-step plan for a food drive at work, school or church: partner with a food bank, pick the right items and timing, or run a virtual drive.
- Food & community — What food banks really need, how to run a food drive, how to share surplus food safely, and how to organize a meal train for a neighbor who needs it.
Everyday generosity
- Generosity at work: small habits that make a team better — Ideas for generosity at work, from giving campaigns and volunteer time off to sharing credit and mentoring, plus what research says about givers.
- 75 random acts of kindness ideas, from free to five dollars — 75 practical random acts of kindness: free ideas, under-$5 gestures, kindness at work, for neighbors, online, for strangers and with kids.
- The science of giving: what research says about generosity and happiness — What studies actually show about giving and happiness: prosocial spending, brain imaging, toddlers, volunteering and health, and the replication caveats.
- How to teach kids generosity, age by age — Research-backed ways to raise generous kids: talk about giving, use spend-save-give jars, age-by-age ideas from toddlers to teens, and family giving traditions.
- Tipping as generosity: how much to tip in 2026, and why it matters — How much to tip at restaurants, for delivery, hotels and salons, why the $2.13 tipped wage matters, what to do about tip screens, and how tip pools work.
- How to start volunteering — and make it stick — How to find volunteer opportunities that fit your time and skills, plus the latest US volunteering stats from AmeriCorps and the Census Bureau.
- Everyday generosity — Practical, research-backed guides to random acts of kindness, volunteering, tipping, generosity at work, raising generous kids and the science of giving.
Magnanimity
- How to win and lose graciously — A practical sportsmanship guide for athletes, parents and coaches: what to say when you win or lose, handshake lines, sideline habits, and fair play at work.
- Famous magnanimous acts in history and sports — Real, well-documented moments of magnanimity: Grant at Appomattox, Lincoln's "malice toward none," Mandela in 1995, and Olympic rivals who chose grace.
- What does "magnanimous" mean? The great-souled virtue, explained — Magnanimous means generous in spirit, especially toward rivals. Its Latin roots, Aristotle's megalopsychia, Aquinas, synonyms, and how to use it well.
- Magnanimity — What magnanimous means, from Aristotle's megalopsychia to Aquinas, famous magnanimous acts in history and sport, and how to win and lose graciously.
- Kindness Generator — Spin the wheel or draw a card for a random act of kindness. Filter 75 ideas by time, cost and setting, then light a star in your sky each time you do one.
- Charity Checker — An interactive checklist for vetting a charity before you donate: IRS status, state registration, ratings, Form 990 and FTC scam red flags.
- Giving Budget Planner — Turn a giving pledge into a plan: see annual, monthly and per-paycheck giving from your income, split it across causes, and get 2026 tax basics.
- Meal Train Planner — Build a meal train schedule in a minute: pick dates, add volunteers and allergies, then print, copy or download it as a calendar file. Free, no sign-up.
- Tools for giving, kindness and showing up — Free, private, in-browser tools: a random acts of kindness generator, a charity vetting checklist, a giving budget planner and a meal train schedule maker.
About
- About magnanimo.us — Who makes magnanimo.us, how we research and source every claim, how we handle charity recommendations, and our relationship with the allthingsN network.
- Sources & methodology — How magnanimo.us researches and checks its guides, which kinds of sources we trust, and a complete index of every source URL cited on the site.
Today's Kindness