I recently participated in a presentation about the many ways for people to benefit their favorite charities and nonprofits. It was for the people at our area organizations whose role it is to raise the funds they need to keep going and the many ways for their supporters to help them do that. But in the interests of raising all their boats, I’m here this time to go right to the source of those critical funds – you and me, dear readers.

First of all, the case for our support couldn’t be clearer right now. Cultural organizations like the Peterborough Players and the Monadnock Chorus have all suffered huge cutbacks in their public support. I know, who would do that? And if you think that’s a good idea, you can flip on over to the sports section.

But that’s not all. Social service organizations like The River Center, End 68 Hours of Hunger, CASA and Hospice are also having to tighten their belts even more than usual.

And where does that leave them all? It means they need to look harder and more creatively at those of us who value those organizations – and who would miss them terribly if they couldn’t make their ends meet.

So, how can we help? Well, the obvious ways are with cash, checks, credit cards and Venmo – maybe crypto, too, if you have some of that mysterious currency flying around in cyberspace.

But wait. If you’re not able to withstand any immediate debits to your accounts, how about some of that Apple stock that pays out nothing and that you can’t sell because of the outrageous tax you’d have to pay on all its pesky appreciation? You can give a few slices of the Apple to your special organizations; then they can sell them and keep all the money because, of course, they’re tax-exempt, and they never make a profit anyhow.

You can also do this with that lot in the woods of Maine (where the mosquitoes are the size of drones) or with that Monet in the laundry room you have to keep dusting the dryer lint off of. This is my lame attempt at nonprofit humor, of which there isn’t much these days.

Another option is making a charitable distribution from your IRA or other such retirement account, without even suffering a withdrawal penalty. And if you’re old enough to be subject to “required minimum distributions” from those accounts – you know who you are – you can have some of those otherwise taxable funds distributed to your undernourished but deserving nonprofits and there won’t be any tax at all on what you contribute. Just contact your plan administrator, give them the names of the organizations and the amounts you want sent, and they’ll address the envelopes and lick the stamps. After all, those firms need to earn their fees, and having them handle this tedious task always makes me feel doubly warm and fuzzy.

Even if you have an IRA or other retirement fund but don’t know whether you’ll need it yourself, you can name your special favorites as beneficiaries of a portion of the “final” distribution. That may not help immediately (I’ve got my fingers crossed for you), but that’s what’s called “planned giving” in the nonprofit world and they’ll all need those funds as much then as now.

Or maybe you have a life insurance policy that you took out when your kids might have needed the proceeds for schooling, but now they’re chemical engineers making more than you ever did. You can either cash in the policy and gift the funds to your needy nonprofits – or at least make them the beneficiaries of some of the proceeds when the “time” comes. (I’m wishing you many more happy years here, too).

And think about this: Do the kids really need every last nickel we’ve managed to squirrel away? Wouldn’t it provide a good example for them to see us paying a modest percentage forward to the organizations that helped improve or extend the quality of our lives?

There are plenty of other ideas, too, but these are the low-hanging fruit in the charitable orchard. I guarantee that if you’re motivated to help out, there’s a way for you to do it that will make the process nearly painless.

Finally, I can’t help remembering the beloved Sharon Arts Center. It’s the poster organization for what happens when there’s not enough local support and no nest egg to fall back on. The chance that its fate could befall another of our stalwart institutions is just too disheartening to contemplate. We can avoid that, but we have to step up.

So, let’s channel that ubiquitous swoosh and “just do it.” What’s more, let’s not wait until Dec. 31 or make yet another unfulfilled New Year’s resolution. We’re often too busy or tapped out by then anyhow, and the brutal cuts in funding are right here and now. This is a concrete way to fight back against those, too.

L. Phillips Runyon III has practiced law in Peterborough for 50 years and was the presiding justice of the 8th Circuit Court for 27 years.