I have seen all too many of them putting $20 bills in that contribution box as if they were water. Not only do they not save money, they waste it. And most of them have nothing. They rent apartments, they have beat-up cars (and "beat up" can mean the floor is falling apart, and you can see the road through it, rendering it unsafe), they have more Junk Mart stuff that will not last, they lack food stock enough to get through a 2 week disruption, and they have practically zero investments in any way, shape, or form.
Instead, they waste their money. Donations are the top waste of money. They also waste money on Grand Boasting Sessions (the trips and hotel stays are expensive). Suit dry cleanings are very expensive--and they look down on anyone that uses garment bags to put their suits in the laundry in the gentle cycle instead of using toxic chemicals. They eat lunch at McDonalds every day, wasting even more money to ruin their health (almost as bad as those cancer sticks).
I never invested in anything much until the end of 2010, when I got my first 1/10 ounce of gold. During the 2010s, I have been loading up on silver. Silver in the form of 1 ounce coins and bars, silver in the form of old coins (soon to be banned for political correctness), silver in the form of foreign coins (including the Australia Kookaburra and Austria coins). I also have my coin collection growing back (including buying the Indian cents I got rid of, pre-1964 Jefferson nickels and older, and a few common date, high grade odd coins). I got one Large Cent in VF condition, a 2 cent piece in VF, a Shield Nickel in XF (those are hard to find), a 1950 D Jefferson Nickel in uncirculated condition (again, those will be hard to find, political correctness ban or none), some Seated Liberty dimes and quarters in VF to XF condition, and even one Capped Bust dime (in VG condition).
While you may prefer other financial assets that are denominated in paper, I prefer the metals. But, both are preferable to nothing--preferable to wasting your money donating to the enslavement of the whole planet.