Hi! I'm Ric Edelman, ranked the number one Independent Financial Advisor in the nation by Barron's.

We Americans are very generous; we donated more than $300 billion last year according to Giving USA. But due to difficult economy, we've been giving a little bit less lately. Charitable giving fell about 6% last year. It's understandable, a lot of people have lost jobs and others who still have jobs are afraid they might lose them too. Some folks are recovering from investment losses as well.

May be you don't think you can be as generous as you would like to be or as generous as you've been in the past, that's okay. Instead of making a donation, make a promise, promise that you'll start donating again when your financial situation improves. If you have a job, promise that in six months, if you haven't lost your job, you'll make a donation. Promise that when you get a raise, you'll give some of that raise to charity. Tell your favorite charity or church or non-profit organization about your promise. Many of them are in survival mode too. And if you've already given to charity or if you've donated your time, you have my deep thanks and the deep appreciation for the charities you support and the people and communities they serve. And if you haven't been able to donate, then make a promise that you will soon.