A local news anchor in Denver has been quietly teaching a powerful lesson for years. Each week, he highlights a Colorado nonprofit and asks viewers to consider a $5 donation—and typically matches the first 50 gifts of $5 personally.
Not $500.
Not a major gift.
Just $5.
And every week, it works.
What began in June 2020 as a simple, repeatable ask has grown into a sustained movement that has raised more than $15 million for Colorado non-profits.1
The lesson isn’t about money. It’s about behavior.
When giving feels accessible, people participate.
When it’s repeatable, generosity becomes a habit.
And when it’s easy, it scales.
In wealth management, charitable conversations — and many advisory conversations — tend to begin much later. After assets accumulate. After tax considerations arise. After the “big” dollars appear.
Generosity doesn’t start with big dollars. It starts with small decisions.
Sometimes with a moment of gratitude.
Sometimes when a child wants to rally support for something they care about.
Sometimes with a QR code and a $5 decision.
When giving is easy to say yes to, it becomes something people want to invite others into.
Giving doesn’t grow because dollars get bigger.
It grows because participation repeats.
One person steps forward, names a cause and makes it easy for others to join.
That same move is now accessible from modern donor-advised fund platforms. A donor can highlight a cause, make the first contribution, and invite others to participate. A personal act of generosity becomes a shared moment.
A donor-advised fund doesn’t have to mark the end of a charitable journey. It can be the structure that helps small, early acts of generosity live long enough to become habits.
If $5 can start a habit, the real question for advisors isn’t whether it matters — it’s who helps steward it next.
Important Disclosures & Definitions
1 Next with Kyle Clark. (n.d.). Word of thanks. 9News. 9news.com/thanks
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