Any moral obligation to give to charities?

This is s a simple matter of giving to a choice of worthy charity/charities and giving the amount with which you feel comfortable.

Some religious groups 'suggest' tithing or 10% of your available income. Does that work for you? If not, then why not use an amount like 5%?

Bottom line is the amount itself doesn't matter..it is the act of giving itself. Some people give of their time and volunteer as that makes a difference, too.

Since charity is a personal thing, wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask those you truly have known in your life, and know you, rather than complete strangers? One might be making assumptions that there is an objective rule for "charity." In my opinion, it is completely subjective, and therefore asking strangers is like asking anyone on a crowded street; good for a statistical analysis, but of no value for any wise decision. However, if one justs wants to follow the crowd, so to speak, I cannot comment on that approach to life.

what a strange reply.
this is an open forum designed to talk about these types of things, in which i'm asking for people's opinions. perhaps if i was asking what 'types' of charities it would be subjective, but the concept of giving to charities itself doesn't require someone to know anyone personally to state their opinion. this is intended to open up conversations about finding a balance between living your life and being selfless, not about me personally

IMO giving to charity is about "living with yourself" as indeed are all so called "moral obligations". This view is based on a well documented view that "self" is a socially acquired concept which carries with it obligations to "others". The range of significant others is (as Foofie implied) a function of personal history. In this respect, the specific charity question is relatively insignificant compared with the general issue of social obligations.

0.7%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid

you're right, it's definitely living with yourself.
it becomes odd when you take the long view on things; what does it really matter giving to (most) charities? everyone will die one day, and a vast majority of charities are only affecting how Comfortably people are living.
The only charities i think that one might be morally obligated to give, at least a little bit, to are health ones. if we possess the capacity to prevent others from premature death in exchange for giving up some comforts, then i think we should. though, you could just as easily say that we're all on borrowed time anyways, so what's the point in giving up enjoyment to delay the inevitable.
I guess, i'm just curious where other people think the balance lies between the two.