April 15, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Tax time prompts many donors to review their charitable contributions — and what persuaded them to make the gifts that enabled them to take tax deductions.
Bob Levey, a Chronicle of Philanthropy columnist who has worked as a journalist and fund raiser, used his tax-time paperwork to reflect on what made him donate more than once during the year to a few of his favorite causes.
His alma mater got a second $100 gift after Mr. Levey learned that an alumnus had donated $150-million to provide scholarships to students. Mr. Levey says he wanted to show the institution that even modest donors care about giving needy students’ access to college.
Another repeat gift went to promote voting rights for residents of the District of Columbia — a cause that came closer to reality last year. Mr. Levey wanted to reinforce with his second gift that his support for the cause was not “occasional or only skin deep.”
And yet another gift was made because Mr. Levey missed a fund-raising dinner because he and wife had both failed to RSVP. “I gave again because I was careless and guilty about it.”
What do you think motivates people to give more than once a year?
