Answer: We should perform every duty in this world thoughtfully. Our conscience and reasoning should be clear in regard to our activities. I am happy to understand that you are following this principle.

Your questions can be divided into two sub-divisions:
1. Donating for the cause of Service Activities meant for the poor and the needy people, and
2. Donating to the Temples for the service of the Lord and His devotees.

1. We should know clearly why we are going to do some service activities. Swami Vivekananda said, “Our duty to others means helping others; doing good to the world. Why should we do good to the world ? Apparently to help the world, but really to help ourselves. Do not stand on a high pedestal and take five cents in your hand and say, Here, my poor man, but be grateful that the poor man is there, so that by making a gift to him, you are able to help yourself. It is not the receiver that is blessed, but it is the giver. Be thankful that you are allowed to exercise your power of benevolence and mercy in the world, and thus become pure and perfect.” (Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 1, page Ð 75-76) Hence, we understand that to do good to ourselves, we should also serve others. It is because we are in a very big family called the world, and the needy and poor people are also part of our family. As in our day-to-day family life, we see, if anyone of our relatives is not keeping well physically, mentally or economically, spontaneously helping propensities come to us and we go ahead in removing the problems. Similarly the service activities for the needy people should be the outcome of our spontaneous feeling of oneness. Thus our heart expands. We become more and more unselfish. Gradually our mind becomes pure.

Again, Swami Vivekananda said, “After so much austerity, I have understood this as the real truth – God is present in every jiva (living being); there is no other God besides that. Who serves jiva, serves God indeed. “(Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. 7, page Ð 247) This is the central idea behind the multifarious service activities which are carried on by different centres of the Ramakrishna Math & Mission. And this should be the ideal behind any of our philanthropic activities. Keeping this ideal constantly in the mind, if we try to serve others – who are Gods in different forms and manners, it also becomes the worship of the Lord and naturally the consequences of this sort of worship also brings to its performers the same results, as in the ritualistic worship of the Lord. This type of worshippers get broadness of heart, selflessness, feeling of oneness with all, purity of mind through these service activities which lead them in course of time to the supreme goal of a person that is, God realization.

This is in brief about the ideas which should be behind our philanthropic activities. Please read thoroughly these books: “Salvation and Service” (a compilation from Swamiji’s works), “Lectures from Colombo to Almora”, “Karma Yoga” by Swami Vivekananda and other books on his life and teachings, and contemplate on the sublime ideas therein. Swami Vivekananda revolutionized in combining the Vedanta with our mundane activities, especially those meant for the God in the living beings. After you become convinced, you may go ahead with doing some services to the needy directly or indirectly, depending on your convenience; donating monetarily is an indirect way in doing these services.

2. A devotee inclines to serve his Lord as much as he can. The more he loves Him, more he tries to serve Him in some way or the other. Again, Sri Ramakrishna says that the Lord, His devotees and the Bhagavatam is the same; i.e., the essence is – the God manifests more in His devotees than in others. So, if somebody, out of the genuine love for his Ishta or the Chosen Deity, donates in a temple wherein his Ishta is worshipped daily and also His devotees and His created beings, creatures, animals, etc. are also served in some way, then he feels tremendous inward joy by doing something for the Lord. And this leads him towards the supreme goal of realizing his Ishta. Again, a devotee can also visit or donate temples of Deities different from his own chosen Deity, as the same Supreme Lord only takes the forms of different Deities.

Again, our scriptures prescribe to whom to donate. In Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 17, verses 20-22), Sri Krishna said that we should do charity or donation seeing the proper time, place and person. There are three types of charity – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika; Sattvika Charity is of the highest type. Please read these verses and its explanations as well. Hope this will clear your doubts to some extent.