In our class we have talked about issues of time vs. money,
allocation, resources and many other important issues regarding
philanthropy. However I think a topic in
our class that has been over looked is where to give. I know
that, as a class we are giving 10,000 dollars to a non profit in the field of
education. However, as a class, we have
not discussed where we would give money
to when we are older. Which
organization? What fields of non-
profit?
After school if I am lucky enough to earn a decent salary, I
would want to give back to the places where I have benefitted. If I am not able to support an organization
with the financial resources that I would like,
I would hope that I can volunteer for places that are helping my
community and in which I am a part. I
think it is very important to give back, especially to places that help shape
the person you become. For example, I
have greatly benefitted from the Chabad of Binghamton and hopefully one day I
can give back to this organization. I go
to Chabad daily, where I have met almost all of my friends, here at Binghamton.
Chabad lets me practice my religion the
way in which I feel most comfortable.
Community plays a vital role in my development; it offers tremendous
support in times of distress and also provides a welcome group with which to
share a happy occasion. Since I understand the importance of community, I have
already started giving back to Chabad. I
volunteer at their events; I am an active board member, working to get
other students involved. I do this
because I want to make sure that Chabad remains a warm, engaged, and connected
community.
That is why on behalf of the Binghamton Scrabble Club we
have decided to start a gofund me campaign for Shabbat 1800. It is chabad’s biggest event of the year and
costs the most money. Our goal is to
raise 1100 dollars so that the Scrabble Club can be one of the biggest sponsors
of the event. As president I have
decided that every year as a club we will try to help an organization that serves
and provides for the community. Right
now we have raised 678 dollars with about a month left to the event. Here is the link to the go fund me.
Where would you give?
Also to organizations that have helped shaped you? Or would you consider
donating to a national organization that might help more people? I am very curious to know what you think. Where are important places where you might
not have benefitted, but it might have helped others? Would you give to a place that you thought
did not really help you, even though it might have helped others? Would you give the money to religious
organizations focus their effort on a specific sector of the population?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBen
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I think I would also give to an organization that has shaped me. I spent all of high school working with Project Nicaragua, and during my junior year I was able to go to Nicaragua and build houses there for a week. This is an organization that has changed the way that I see the importance of shelter; I often think back about the people that I met in Nicaragua who were trying to live and raise families out of huts, or on the streets of the capital city of Managua. I know that it is a trustworthy organization, because I have personally donated time to it and met the people who run it. I do not think this is an uncommon way of donating, as the NPR story "What Motivates People to Give" explained, our wallets often follow our feet (so where we have donated time is also where we will donate money).
This ties into your following questions, because I know that I should spend more time scanning different charities that benefit more people, but my core values and my work with homelessness makes me want to help those who I am familiar with and an issue that I am passionate about. The money that I am putting towards homelessness in Nicaragua might have gone to help education in Binghamton, and ultimately that is an internal struggle that I know I will have to face when I do decide do donate portions of my income.
I would like to think that the more money I make one day, the more I will be able to give to different, far-reaching charities. However, according to "the Chronicle of Philanthropy" (link below) the wealthy donate smaller portions of their income than the middle and lower class. So ultimately, no matter how much money I make in the future, this is a question I will have to address. It is not a matter of how much money I make, but how philanthropic I am. I hope that I continue to have a passion for philanthropy, and give away as much of my income as I can to worthy, proactive organizations.
https://philanthropy.com/article/As-Wealthy-Give-Smaller-Share/152481
Ben,
ReplyDeleteI think it is a natural response to want to give back to an organization that has shaped us because we want others to have a chance to experience the things we did. Also, giving to an organization that we have experience with is a safe and personal contribution; we know how the organization works, what the contributions will help accomplish, and who will benefit. It is difficult sometimes to try and go through the process of finding a new place to give to because of the uncertainty that exists. It would take time and effort we may not have, it would require a great amount of trust in an uncertain world, and it would be difficult to justify giving somewhere new instead of to an organization close to you. This, to me, may be why we tend to give to the organizations we know well.
I personally would give to organizations I have been a part of or worked with in the past because of the fact that I know them well and know the impact they can have. I would, and have, contributed to organizations like the church I grew up in because it was there that I was able to grow my faith and learn how to be a good person. I also would support organizations like GROUP Workcamps, or Border Buddies Ministries, who are organizations I have worked with in the past and gone on mission trips with who have greatly impacted my growth and my life. I believe it is important to try and help the groups and organizations that helped you, both as a “thank you” for how they served you, and as a way of helping them do for others what they did for you.
But giving should not stop at the water’s edge of our own personal comfort or knowledge. Giving to other unfamiliar organizations will require us to examine them, learn about them, and maybe even get involved in their work too. Organizations that may not have directly impacted us or may not have helped us directly does not mean that the work they do is unworthy. It is always worth at least examining and contemplating any organization to see if they are worthy of our support. The important part is that we do what is within our means and our abilities to give and serve those who need our help.
Hello Ben,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing an interesting personal blog post. Throughout the semester, I have went back and forth between several issues where I would like to see change. And like I mentioned previously in another blog, I prefer to listen to my heart and follow those irrational decisions on my philanthropy. Therefore, I will be more likely to donate to a local organization versus an international organization. This can be applied to our recent discussion of whether we donate as altruistic individuals or do we donate to make ourselves feel better. The fact that I prefer to see the impact I am making appears to support the idea of emotions being a factor of my donating action. It’s very interesting to think about this question and really ask myself, am I really feeling happier? Or do I just donate because I want to see change? And then I would want to ask further of why do I want to see change? The questions can definitely go on and on.
To address your other question about donating to a place that did not really help me—I would donate to other places but I do not think I will donate a larger sum than I would to a local organization. In this article, it explains the reason why when people donate they feel happier. People donate because they want to feel like they are significant and is part of something bigger. Although this sounds selfish and quite the contrary of altruism, I believe it is human nature to feel this way. This example of a relief fund after a tragic natural disaster is a good way to gather the community together, striving for one goal.
Link to the article:
Deletehttp://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/22/psychology.giving.charity/index.html
Ben, good post. I think you hit on a really critical point that it is good to give back to organizations that have helped us in our own lives. Perhaps this is why we always hear about professional athletes giving back to the local boy and girls clubs that they attended growing up.
ReplyDeleteI also feel called to donate to causes that provide things for people that I had provided for me by my family. I almost feel guilty about having things others do not and seemingly taken them for granted. So, I am also called to give to organizations that have affected me, but also to organizations for which I never would have had any need for, because I already had what they provided.