NOVEMBER 14 • 2024 | 31

become a monthly sustainer of an 
organization at $18 a month or $36 
a month, that organization knows 
that we can count on you. And we 
do, quite literally.
“Monthly commitments allow 
charities to plan for the future, to 
do our work better, to do it more 
sustainably,” she said. “What makes 
monthly donors so crucial to the 
work of charities is that no matter 
how fundraising ebbs and flows, 
we know that we can do our core 
programming this year because we 
can rely on our monthly sustainers 
to continually support the work. So 
that is a continual pursuit.”
Faust, who is Jewish, added that 
monthly giving is a form of giving 
based on the concept of tzedakah.
“When I think about tzedakah, 
I think about what we’re taught 
in Sunday schools that the 

root of the word tzedakah isn’t 
charity, it’s justice, it’s fairness, 
it’s righteousness,” she said. 
“I’ve always taken that to mean 
that the work of tzedakah is the 
work of making our community 
an equitable place for all of us 
to live in. We know that there’s 
injustice and we know that there’s 
unfairness. And it’s part of why I 
feel so strongly about my work for 
the ACLU.”
ACLU of Ohio, like many 
nonprofit organizations, offers 
donor options, including planned 
estate giving, gifts of stock and 
giving through an IRA. Those 
funding vehicles may make 
monthly giving impractical. A 
donor planning a major gift — 
generally defined as anything 
over $10,000 — should consult a 
financial adviser to determine if a 

specific time of year for the transfer 
makes the most sense.

EVERY GIFT MATTERS
Nonprofit organizations often solic-
it major gifts, but small donations 
— especially micro-donations — 
are really their bread and butter. 
A micro donation is by definition 
anything under $100, but the real-
ity is that it can be small change. 
Over time, these gifts add up and 
are among the most sustainable. 
Younger donors, in particular, are 
generally more comfortable with 
smaller gifts. Some charitable 
groups are specifically targeting 
millennials and Gen Z donors to 
give small amounts. That is a wise 
move, according to Faust.
“I would suggest to folks whether 
you’re able to give monthly or 
whether you’re able to give once a 

year on Chanukah, take one night 
of Chanukah to sit down with your 
family and choose a charity to give 
a gift to,” Faust said.
“If you have older children, you 
can ask them to think about the 
issues that matter to them. Have 
them do research on charities and 
ask them to bring you one that 
they want the family to support. 
If you have younger children, tell 
them about the organizations that 
you admire and ask them to help 
you choose one or a few to give 
to for that year. And if you’re able 
to give monthly, take that night of 
Chanukah and go online together 
and set up a monthly donation 
together.” 

Bill Motchan is a freelance journalist. This was 

first published in the Cleveland Jewish News 

and reprinted here with permission.

