With the focus this week in class being on whether we should
give directly to those in need or give to philanthropic organizations, I
thought that I would discuss my thoughts on the two general forms of giving.
The first form of giving falls under what I define as
philanthropy. Philanthropy is defined as a deep seated desire to improve the
general welfare and overall quality of life of the entire human race. When I
think of philanthropy, I think of donating money intelligently to
organizations. Philanthropy entails more than just a monetary gift.
Philanthropy is an investment in the future of humanity. Many problems can only
be solved through long term investments in infrastructure or research. Good
things come to those that wait, and an investment in the future of humanity
seems like a worthwhile investment for me.
The second form of giving is what I define as charity.
Charity is defined as having compassion and love for those less well off than
yourself by giving gifts and money to them. Charity can be the loose change
that you give to an unemployed, homeless person off the streets, or a coat that
is given to someone in need by a clothing drive. While charity is always
compassionate and kind, I would argue that it isn’t as beneficial to the human
race as philanthropy is.
The main difference between philanthropy and charity is that
while philanthropy is trying to find a cure for the problems of mankind,
charity is simply trying to put a band aid over the problems. Take the
unemployed, homeless person mentioned above as an example. A person could give
money directly to that person, which might run out in a week, or a month, but
would most certainly run out. On the other hand, that money might be better
donated to an organization that provides occupational training free of charge
to the homeless and unemployed. Band aids are ineffective, and fall off over
time, leaving open wounds and scars. A cure, however, could ensure that the
future welfare of the human race is greatly improved over our own time.
In my opinion, I would rather donate the money that the
class has to a philanthropic organization, one that provides structure and
support for the improvement of humanity, than a charitable organization, one
that provides goods/finances for the lesser off. While this decision may seem
cold or calculated to many, I foresee a future in which all problems have been
eradicated thanks to careful planning, intelligent investments, and smart
management of money. Charity work may be more loving, compassionate, and emotionally
rewarding, but I am of the opinion that an investment in the future of humanity
is the more rewarding in the long run.
I want to start off saying that this was a great post! Full of critical thinking and philosophy about Philanthropy and Charity. I agree fully with your argument on Philanthropy V. Charity. Charity seems to be a temporary cause to give, like "putting a band-aid" over the situation. Giving to individuals is a great thing to do, however, why not give to organizations instead. Organizations or non-profits are meant to assist hundreds or thousands of people instead of just one individual. I have noticed a common post is about how we are affraid we will have political gridlock in our class, due to different individual beliefs. I personally think this will not be as big of a problem as people illustrate it to be. I think each day we gain further and further respect to listen to each other, and understand our beliefs. I personally have emailed my Captain of my Fire Department so he can hand in the grant form. I feel if there is any gridlock it will be between people who have an affiliation with the organization, such as myself. However, I feel that it will not get in the way as most people predict. I know if anyone has an affiliation with a group that is applying for our grants, I will listen more carefully, because they are direct liaisons with the agency/organization.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post!
Best,
Pat LaBuff
Great post, Alec. You did a good job summing up some of the differences between philanthropy and charity. I'm also on the side of philanthropy, although in the past I've often found charity to be rewarding, too. I think, or at least I hope, that it's possible to have a mix of both. While I agree that giving money to a homeless person isn't really going to have any affect, take this study for example, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/03/should-you-give-money-to-homeless-people/72820/, which provided homeless people with money, but more importantly with guidance about how to spend it to best meet their needs.
ReplyDeleteI think it's definitely possible to combine the heartfelt compassion involved in charity with more effective philanthropy. The chapter in A Path Appears that affected me most might have actually been the one on social enterprises, like the Greyston Bakery. Without some of that cold/calculated reasoning, their employees would be back on the streets.
When taking this philanthropy vs. charity debate into account for our class, I would say that I hope that our grant will be able to help a charitable organization to give better. I agree that it isn't enough to just buy food and give it away, for example. But in the past, this class gave money to CHOW so they could buy a new truck to deliver food to more rural areas. I think this is the kind of longer-lasting impact our class needs to make.
Dana,
DeleteThanks for the great reply! I've thought a good deal more about this topic since yesterday, and especially about giving to the homeless. After reading the article, I am still inclined to donate more to organizations that would provide support for the homeless, rather than directly to the homeless. According to the article you cited, donating directly to beggars simply encourages them to beg more, which is not solving the problem. I also have a trust issue with beggars. I hate not knowing whether my money is going to someone who is a genuine good person and has simply fallen on hard times, and is using the money to go to school or to buy a suit for an interview, or if my money is going to someone who is using the money to fuel an alcohol or drug addiction and making no attempt to improve their lives. I would rather donate my money to an organization that provides support for the homeless, such as opportunities for getting jobs or resources for combating addictions. By donating to an organization, it removes the trust issue and allows me to be confident that my money is going to a good place.
I really really enjoyed this post. This is a constant dilemma i have when trying to rationalize my own opinions on a specific cause, as well as when reading materials and listening in on the discussions in our class. The comparison you make is very insightful and perfectly highlights each type of giving and organizations. Charitable giving is very much short term and focuses on immediate positive reinforcement, while philanthropy is something that is long-term that is not done for the reinforcement. This issues ties into the idea of genuinely good giving vs. giving that is done for oneself. This is very crucial because most of the fair and effective giving is done by way of rationality rather than on a whim for something that was going to only be quickly be rewarding. Not to undermine charities, because we still needs the few beds for homeless people to sleep on while the issue of homelessness is still around and not yet eliminated by better wages and job sustainability, according to the group who presented on homelessness. I am definitely leaning more toward giving philanthropically, however i think we need to evaluate and research the issue we end up settling with because we don't completely know whether an immediate alleviation or long-term sustainability of the protection are more pressing and important.
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ReplyDeleteYou describe philanthropy as attempting to solve humanity's problems while charity is placing a band-aid over the symptoms. I agree with the distinction in the sense that there are clearly two types of causes. I appreciate the way you distinguish worry from unworthy causes by classifying them as either philanthropic or charitable and completely agree with the notion. Where I am troubled is by how horribly difficult it is for individuals to agree on definitions of philanthropy versus charity. To some, philanthropy may mean donating to organizations while charity is donating to individuals. To others, philanthropy is donation large amounts or percentages of your time and/or money, while charity is a much smaller endeavor.
ReplyDeleteUltimately Alec, I think that the analysis is spot on, I just think that we need to develop different terms to distinguish long term versus short term types of organizations, in order to prevent the terms from being misconstrued or misused or misunderstood. Or, we need to have a unified definition that we as a class do not stray from for the remainder of the course
I have always thought that philanthropy and charity are one and the same thing with difference being charity involves a group of people whereas philanthropy is common with big figure individuals such as Bill Gates in the likes. Nice outline on how the two differ and I really learnt something tangible here. I would love to hear more about the this topic.
ReplyDeletePaula Robinson @ Canada Gives