Generosity benefits everyone involved, including those who give. Studies show that generous behaviour – volunteering, giving to causes you believe in, helping a stranger, or paying it forward – activates the part of our brains responsible for feeling rewarded. This reaction is sometimes called the “helper’s high”.
What’s more, generosity has been linked to both long-term and short-term happiness as well as better mental and physical health. When we’re generous and when we participate in kindness in our communities, we are engaging in behaviours that our brains are wired to enjoy. This means that kindness can fulfill itself – we feel good because we do good, and we do good because we feel good.
Giving to causes we care about is most beneficial when it becomes part of our routine. Regularly volunteering, setting up a recurring donation to a cause you care about, or going out of your way to be kind in the world all add up to a happier, healthier life.
Recurring Donations Build a Sturdy Foundation
Regular giving isn’t just good for us: it can make a huge difference for the organizations and causes we value. Have you ever thought about the power of $20, or even $10? It may not feel like much, but it could help the charities and non-profits you care about reach their goals and create a future to believe in.
You’ve likely seen it on donation forms, the toggle turning ‘Donate Once’ into ‘Donate Monthly’. But have you considered what it could mean to a charity for you to flip that switch?
A one-time donation of $200 is a wonderful gift, but $20 for ten months is something an organization can count on. The predictability of a recurring donation, even a small one, allows organizations to plan more accurately. The gift of a recurring donation is the gift of realistic goal setting, and the ability to strategize towards the future.
Over time, your $20 a month becomes a reliable part of a charity’s impact. Those donations become a sturdy foundation upon which an organization can build and grow.
Your generosity is good for the future of your charity of choice, and it’s also good for you!
The Power of Your Support at Scientists in School
STEM exploration can open children’s eyes to thousands of possible futures. After all, curiosity and imagination are at the root of all scientific discovery.
Scientists of all stripes explore, ask questions, and wonder “What if…”. At Scientists in School, we strive to inspire those questions and to ignite the curiosity in young learners in every classroom and community across Canada. In order to reach that goal, we have our own “What if…”s to consider – like the impact of a cohort of recurring donors.
🔍 If 5 people gave $10 each month, they would ensure a handful of classrooms receive quality supplies for scientific inquiry at each of their workshops.
🔬 If 10 people became donors today, and they gave $35 each month towards excellent STEM education, we could reach a child with a workshop for every day of the year.
🧲 If 25 people donated $25 per month, they’d easily allow us to deliver two different hands-on interactive workshops for two whole classrooms of little scientists each month.
🧬 If all of these generous, kind, forward-focused people continued to give at their chosen level for just 7 months, they would be able to ensure every class and student in a low-income, remote, or rural school in Canada received hands-on workshops.
🚀 Finally, if these generous people gave for one whole year, they would allow us to plan, test, and launch a brand-new curriculum-aligned workshop across the country.
These are some of the “What If…”s we think about. We believe that every child in Canada should have access to high quality hands-on STEM learning activities in every year of their elementary schooling. While all our donors help us bring science to classrooms in their communities, our recurring donors allow us to build the foundation for a bright STEM future in Canada.
Become a Donor for STEM In Canada
Our funding partners and donors help us make incremental progress towards achieving our vision of reaching every young learner in Canada with STEM enrichment, and we want to build on that success: but we can’t do it alone.
Our mission to ignite scientific curiosity in children would not be possible without our vibrant community. Thank you to our existing donors and supporters for making what we do possible.
If your workplace uses Benevity, consider designating Scientists in School as your charity of choice.
You can learn more about corporate or individual giving by contacting our Director, Fund Development & Communications Amy Schindler at amy.schindler@scientistsinschool.ca.
