Dotty urges one to be charitable (8)
I believe the answer is:
generous
'charitable' is the definition.
(associated in meaning)
'dotty urges one' is the wordplay.
'dotty' indicates anagramming the letters (a mad or 'dotty' version of the letters).
'urges'+'one'='urgesone'
'urgesone' anagrammed gives 'GENEROUS'.
'to be' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for generous that I've seen before include "Giving unselfishly" , "Showing largess" , "Freely giving; larger than usual" , "Munificent; liberal" , "Bountiful, unselfish" .)