According to a recent post of the Nonprofit Fundraising Survey, more than half of the American non-profit organizations reported that a quarter of their contributions are collected between October and December, while 16% of all organizations received over half their year’s total contributions during those months.

This time of year is a great time to organize and tailor your charity plan. Below are five ways to keep your methods for giving back smart and effective.

1. Create a Mission Statement

There is a valid reason why organizations like ours develop a mission statement. It’s a way to organize values into a streamlined concept that you can visualize and achieve. Individuals should take a note from their business pals and create a mission statement of their own, centered around their charity goals.

According to a study by Fidelity Charitable, only 22% of its 1,042 donors had a solid mission statement crafted for their giving plan.

“A mission statement is very personal, but it really identifies what’s important to you and helps you prioritize your giving,” Amy Danforth, President of the organization, said.

Developing a personal giving mission statement puts your goals into perspective. It is the first step to understanding how to give back to charities you care about. Your “how” should include methods such as donations or volunteering, along with goals for giving back like budget and time.

A concrete plan increases your likelihood of following through with your charitable acts.

2. Develop a Budget

Budgeting is crucial for all aspects in life, including charitable donations and time. It’s important to be realistic about giving back.

If you have $5 dollars to spare every week, factor that into your overall budget. If you plan your charitable spending with your bills and utilities, you will keep donations on your priority list.

“The more you align your spending with your priorities, the better you will feel. By spending money on things you truly care about—things that bring you joy—you are decreasing the uncertainty, stress and anxiety about what your money is doing,” You Need a Budget founder Jesse Mecham said in a blog post.

During the holiday season, ensure that you’re budgeting for your donations along with your gifts. This is the time of year when expenses increase and you do not want to slip on your donation plan.

3. Choose a Cause you Care About

When you have a passion for something, you’re more likely to get excited about getting involved. Our passion is shining light on worthy causes and the people that help make them work. For instance, we’ve been able to talk about and help share several worthy causes so far this year including Chive Charities, One Simple Wish, The Teen Project and Autism Speaks.

Use this passion to find organizations that spark your interest and pick those organizations as your selected charities. Start out with one charity and work your way up to more. When you focus on one passion, you can test different ways of giving back and use those experiences as lessons learned for the future.

4. Recruit Family and Friends

One of the smartest ways to give back during the holidays – and any time of year – is getting other people on board.

For the holidays, team up with your family, friends or office and adopt a family. Organizations including the Salvation Army provide resources for groups to adopt a local family and collect donations to give them a cheerful holiday. Groups collect clothing, toiletries, toys and other items on the families’ needs list and bring their donations directly to the family or the organization to be distributed and enjoyed.

When you work together with a group, you can make a greater impact and increase your giving power.

5. Volunteer Reasonably

It’s wonderful that you’re interested in giving back, but it’s crucial that you remain realistic. When volunteers start with an organization, they may want to get involved with many activities and projects, but it’s very each to get burnt out. Once these volunteers get burnt out, they are not useful and not giving back.

Be smart and realistic about your availability. The holidays are an especially busy time of year, which means you need to readjust your volunteer schedule to accommodate family gatherings and other responsibilities that arise with the season.

Volunteer coordinators should respect your time and they will appreciate your honesty because it keeps you on board for the future.

The holiday season is a great time to get involved. Take this season to learn what you’re interested in and create a charity-driven mission statement that sparks opportunities throughout your lifetime.

The post Five Ways To Effectively Give Back During The Holidays appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

Good Celebrity’s own Erin Gavin was on the red carpet to help provide coverage.

Numerous celebrities who support the cause attended the gala, including AnnaLynne McCord, Quinton Aaron, Jennifer Finnigan, Cody Saintgnue, McNally Sagal, Tilda Del Toro and Jayde Nicole to name a few. Cadillac provided car service for the guests to and from the venue.

Guests experienced a live performance from Lotis Jackson, as well as music provided by DJ Tolula. A silent auction was held with various donations from Susanna Paliotta’s The Crown Couture, Smashbox, Josie Maran and Philip B products to name a few. The money raised is supporting the The Teen Project’s Freehab, a beautiful 85 bed facility for LA’s homeless and addicted young woman.

The Teen Project is a Los Angeles based non-profit organization dedicated to moving youth from the streets to safe housing, education and job obtainment quickly. Lauri Burns, a national advocate for homeless youth and founder of The Teen Project, has taken in 32 foster kids and has saved hundreds of homeless youth through her program to this day.

Seeking to help save the Transition Age Youth population, The Teen Project is able to share its impactful stories with the community to raise awareness for the extraordinary needs and tools necessary to allow these kids to become a contributing member of their community and society.

Yotme, the first social application in the sharing economy, joined forces with The Teen Project to help raise awareness of the event through their application. Tickets were available through their app, where they hand selected guests that requested to join the fun.

For further information on The Teen Project, visit www.theteenproject.com.

The post AnnaLynne McCord and Celebrity Guests Attended The Teen Project Red Carpet Event appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

The evening begins with a cocktail reception starting at 7:00pm, with a red carpet outside, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction with many great items up for bid. The show starts at 8:00 and will be hosted by FOX 11’s Christine Devine, who is responsible for more than 500 adoptions of foster children through her work with Wednesday’s Child. Cody Saintgnue (Teen Wolf) will share his own story of hope. He came from very humble beginnings and entered foster care at the age of nine.

Devine, Saintgnue and other special guests will entertain the audience along with music star, Lotis Jackson. During the event, AnnaLynne McCord (90210, Nip/Tuck, Dallas) will be honored by The Teen Project for her efforts to help the organization over the years.

Obviously, the most important aspect of this star-studded red carpet event is to raise money for The Teen Project’s HomeMore program to aid homeless youth in Los Angeles. The sad truth is there are roughly 1.5 million homeless youth in America and 50% of foster kids are homeless. The Teen Project hopes to re-write this story by finding more at-risk children a good home.

Looking forward to attending @TheTeenProject save LA’s homeless youth event tonight.

— Phase Five (@PhaseVMusic) October 12, 2015

The Teen Project is a nonprofit organization that works to move youth from the streets to safe housing, education and job obtainment quickly. Founder Lauri Burns created the organization in response to the neglected resources and amenities needed for young woman after foster care, and the outreach has grown into many other areas over the years. Their mission is to give every child an equal chance at life. The Transition Age Youth (TAY) population is a distinct population with extraordinary needs. The vast majority of The Teen Project’s budget goes towards getting these kids into homes.

Other stars expected to attend The Teen Project Hollywood Red Carpet Event are Max George (The Wanted), Blake Griffin (NBA), Abigail Savage (Orange Is The New Black), Diane Guerrero (Orange Is The New Black), Julie Lake (Orange Is The New Black), McNally Sagal (Sons of Anarchy), Calum Worthy (Disney Star),  The Rhodes Brothers (Scream Queens), Khleo Thomas (Holes), Denzel Whitaker (Abduction), Liliana Mumy (Cheaper by the Dozen), Katy Cleary (ANTM), Patsy Palmer (Eastenders), Trina McGee (Boy Meets World), and Sophie Simmons (Gene’s Simmons: Family Jewels).

The Teen Project expects this to be an amazing night of entertainment and inspiration with all proceeds going toward their great cause. It’s not too late to buy tickets for the HomeMore Hollywood Red Carpet Event, so don’t miss out on your chance to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event.

The post The Teen Project Hollywood Red Carpet Event – Tonight appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.