Many people have told me that it is more difficult to give money away than to earn it. The general instinct to support charitable organizations and causes may come naturally, but the question remains: which ones?

When I started at Wake Forest University I took ROTC, knowing my plan was to enlist in the Army upon graduation. I had one thing standing in my way: poor eyesight as a result of a detached retina. My sophomore year I qualified for Advanced ROTC. Thanks partially to my place in line, I had plenty of time to memorize the smallest characters on the eye exam next to the door. However, on the first day of a required six week summer camp at Fort Bragg, NC prior to my senior year, I entered the eye testing area from the back of the room and—without the chance to study the chart—I failed the eye exam. I was classified as 4F (unfit for service) and spent less than 24 hours in the Army while all of my ROTC class shipped off to Vietnam. Some may look at this as a good break, but my one life regret is that I didn’t serve in the military. This experience is at the core of my strong feelings for those who serve our country as well as my lifelong support of military non-profits.

Our life experiences are often a good starting point when deciding where to gift money. If you had $100,000 that you had to give away to someone other than a family member, what would you support?

Here are some beginning steps to get started:

1. What specific causes move you or have had an impact on your life?
2. Identify the non-profits that best address this need.
3. Start small and increase your gifting as you get more comfortable with the organizations.

We invite you to an event with Larry Swedroe on Wednesday, February 5th at the Saint Louis Club. Larry is one of 22 well-known names in finance quoted in The Wall Street Journal’s December 29, 2013 article The Best Financial Advice I Ever Got (or Gave). Larry’s best advice is: “the strategy to get rich—take concentrated risk, typically with your labor capital/business—is entirely different than the strategy to stay rich, which is to minimize the risks we take, diversify the ones we take as much as possible, keep costs low, tax efficiency high, and don’t spend too much.”

We are proud to offer this opportunity to hear Larry, and we look forward to seeing you there. Details are shown below. For those unable to attend, a video of the entire conversation is now available here.

According to the 2013 World Giving Index, the United States is ranked as the most charitable country in the world. Americans collectively donate billions of dollars out of their pockets and countless hours of their time for the benefit of others. What is the motivation?

I’ve reflected on my family’s motivation, and our simple answer is that we feel it is the right thing to do. We’re fortunate to have the resources to help others, and we know that a portion of our own success was the luck of being in the right place at the right time.

Your reasons may include:

• Having a connection to your school, religious group, or other organization
• Tax benefits
• Having excess resources that are otherwise not needed

The biggest benefit of philanthropy, however, is increased happiness. A 2009 Harvard Business School paper showed that giving increased happiness, and increased happiness led to more giving. From a personal perspective, I can attest that my wife, Lynn, and I have gotten a great deal of satisfaction from helping others. Is your experience similar?