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Make your own copy of this spreadsheet
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Link to original sheet for any instruction updates, or to share with others: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G5U-4PNUNWi0SjZGAzptRpSGRh8B0JRlS3m4EAWeAz8/edit#gid=819677926
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Link to blog post: https://erikareinhardt.com/donation-tracking
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Be in touch
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Form to submit any feedback, ideas, etc: https://forms.gle/py2oCqGvXivB6Z1RA
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Get ready to make decisions!
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The point of this spreadsheet is to help you set yourself up to track and hold yourself accountable for whatever philanthropic goals you'd like to set.
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If you make financial and/or giving decisions with someone else, like your partner, this is a useful exercise to go through together to create a shared vision.
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There are a lot of steps below to walk you through the spreadsheet and how to use and customize it to your liking, but setting it up likely won't take more than 15 minutes.
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Some steps may prompt interesting brainstorming / discussion, though—that timeline is up to you :)
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How to use this spreadsheet
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Yellow cells are meant for you to fill in
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Gray cells are equations that shouldn't be overwritten
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Green and red cells are used to show checksum correct and error states
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Step 1
Decide your philanthropic commitment level
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In the "personal commitment" tab, decide how much you want to give every year. This might be a fixed amount, a percentage of your income, a percentage of your savings, or something else.
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Step 2
Choose how you'll allocate it across categories
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Next, in the "Donation Categories" tab, decide how you want to allocate your giving budget across broad strategies of giving. Some example categories are provided, but customize to your heart's content!
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Step 3
Think about your desired cause areas (optional)
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In the "Cause Areas + Orgs" tab, brainstorm and write down the types of causes you're excited to support with your giving budget
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Step 4
Track your past donations (optional)
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It can be helpful to get a snapshot of what you've been doing donation-wise so far, to see what you want to start, continue, and stop doing. Add any past donations you remember into the "Donation Tracker" tab
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Then view the summary in the "Tracker Summary" to see how much you've given over time, in which categories.
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Compare this to what you've said you'd like to do. What would like to stop, start, and continue to do to fulfill your personal commitment?
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Start
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Stop
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Continue
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Step 5
Setup recurring donations (optional)
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For organizations / causes that you'd like to consistently support, consider setting up monthly recurring donations. This helps to provide stable support to the non-profits, and reduces the burden on you to remember to make recurring donations to these.
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If you're using the default categories, consider how you can fulfill all or some of your "strategic" category with recurring donations.
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Step 6
Track your donations
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As you continue making donations now and in the future, add them to the "Donation Tracker."
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At any point, you can review the "Tracker Summary" tab to see how you're doing relative to your budget, and make any adjustments to your giving habits to match your commitment.
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Step 7
Hold yourself accountable for fulfilling your personal commitment
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Set up a reminder to review the "Tracker Summary" tab every quarter (every 3 months) to see how much you've donated, decide how to allocate any remaining budget, and donate to match your personal commitment.
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An easy way to do this is to setup a recurring calendar invite for March 15, June 15, Sept 15, Dec 15 (every 3 months) every year, with an email reminder, which includes a link to the Tracker Summary tab.
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Step 8Customize!
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This is your own private spreadsheet, so customize to your heart's content to make it work for you!
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