Charity Gift Giving Guide

If you are like most people, you can afford to give more. Read on, to see if you can win an Olympic medal in charitable giving.

Net assets includes everything you own minus all your debts — with some exceptions. Add together the value of bank accounts, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, cars, boats, real estate, patents*, small businesses*, etc., and subtract off credit card debts, investment loans, etc. However, do not include the net equity in your primary residence nor the net amounts saved in pension/retirement plans or college savings plans.

Income not from assets includes income not derived from the above assets. Include gross wages, but do not include interest, dividends, capital gains, royalties*, etc.

Although it isn't easy, try to win a medal! Enter values in the first three fields and check out the results below. (Also see the notes below.)

A. Add 1 to your household size:
B. Enter your household's net assets:	$
C. Enter your household's income not from assets:	$
D. Approximate Gross Domestic Product per capita:	$	(defaults to IMF value for the USA, 2008)

1. Compute 3% of Line B:	$
2. Compute 30% of Line C:	$
3. Sum of Lines 1 and 2:	$
4. Multiply Line A by Line D	$
5. Sum of Lines 3 and 4:	$
6. Divide Line 3 by Line 5:
7G. Multiply Line 3 by Line 6:	$	Gold medal
7S. Multiply Line 7G by 50%:	$	Silver medal
7B. Multiply Line 7G by 25%:	$	Bronze medal

Notes:

This is a JavaScript form, the calculations are done on your computer and your financial information never travels over the Internet.
If this year's income not from assets value is unusual, instead use a typical year's value.
For patents, small businesses, royalties and other hard to value assets and income, try to distinguish the asset from the income. For instance, imagine that you sold your small business to someone else, who then employed you in your current role. The price for that sale should be included in your net assets. The salary you would be paid should be included in your income.
If you have out-of-pocket medical, tuition, or other similar expenses that are nontrivial for you, then you yourself are a charitable cause. Include these expenses in your charitable giving as you work for a medal.
If you live in a country where taxes are high because of "socialist" policies, then some of your tax money might be considered to be charitable giving. You can include a typical year's entire tax burden as charity if you double the threshold values computed in Line 7.
Where do these formulae come from? If you were very rich, each year you could afford to give away 3% of your net assets plus 30% of your income not from assets. This is the value computed on Line 3. If you are not so rich, that value is reduced using a sliding scale, by multiplying the Line 3 value by a fraction that is less than one. This sliding scale multiplier is on Line 6.
If the values on Lines B, C, and D are all entered in thousands of dollars (or all in Euros) than all computed values will also be in thousands of dollars (or all in Euros).