- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

If you are the kind of person who makes decisions about charitable giving at the end of the year, we invite you to share those choices with our readers. To whom do you give? What informs those decisions? 

Some people use sites like Charity Intelligence to help them assess those organizations that send appeals.  Not every gift is tax deductable, but If you are expecting a tax receipt, certainly make sure the recipient is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency. 

In our family we try to balance international concerns like refugees, vaccinations, mothers at risk : Canadian issues such as education equity, legal defence, environment : and local needs for food security, equity, and emergency response for vulnerable people.  You may have very different priorities at your home.

This is also the time of year for resolutions.  Maybe you want to make a regular monthly financial commitment to a cause close to your heart. Or maybe you'll donate the proceeds from a fundraiser or something you sell on Kijiji or Marketplace to a different cause each month. 

Perhaps your resolutions are not about money, but where you will volunteer your time, or commit to supporting a cause with letters, advocacy or joining a board.

There are many reasons for giving - some deeply personal. Maybe you have learned about some important issue this year and realize that you and your neighbours could do something to make a difference.  We invite you to write to us about it, and we'll share it  here on the Hub - with or without your name - to inform and inspire others.

The better 2022 is for our neighbours and communities, the better it will be for each of us.  Our best to you for the new year.