Believe

One year ago, I started in a new position as a Development Director at a small private Episcopal school for preschool through eighth grade students. It has been an amazing year of meeting new people and building relationships, learning the ins-and-outs of fundraising, and celebrating the true meaning of philanthropy. I have embraced an entirely new vocabulary including words like “annual fund”, “sponsor”, and “donor”; have applied for grants; and have honed my event planning skills, all in effort to help our school meet its bottom line. Recently, as the Rector of Christ Church and I reflected on a year of giving, he asked me a direct question: “Why Cyndy, did people give?”. I was surprised at how quickly I stuttered and didn’t have a concise and confident answer to his question. I said things like “Well, people want to support something to which they belong” and “Humans want to think beyond themselves”, but as I stood there feeling rather unsatisfied with the words falling out of my mouth, I decided I had a little thinking to do.

Days later, I attended a professional development seminar and was thrilled to see that one of the presenter’s slides was titled “Why do People Give?”! How awesome that the development professionals were going to spell out the answer for me in bullet points and put an end to my internal contemplation about the concept of giving. The very articulate fundraising expert explained that people give to people, to an impactful mission, in relation to who asks them, and that people respond to specific requests and want recognition for their support. Huh. Yes, these points are all valid. But is that what really drives people to give? That sounded so academic, prescriptive, and clinical to me, and I am far too Pollyanna to believe the bullet points on the slide were the complete answer.

When most of us hear the word philanthropy, our minds instinctively jump to thoughts about money. But according to the National Philanthropic Trust, a public charity dedicated to providing philanthropic expertise to donors, foundations and financial institutions, a philanthropist is anyone who gives of their time, talent, or treasure to make positive change happen for humanity, regardless of their wealth or status. Two points jump out at me as I am sure they do for you too: (1) time, talent, and treasure are all equally important in the summative equation to benefit long term human welfare, and (2) philanthropy can take place regardless of wealth or status. In the original Greek translation, philanthropy literally means “love of humanity” and there is nothing in the Greek to say it has to do with money-- how much you have or how much you give. This year, our school received so many generous financial contributions that provided the needed resources so our faculty could teach and inspire the students every day. These donations were critical to the livelihood of the school in the short term and the long term, and they came from donors regardless of their wealth or status. We had donations of a few coins, and we had donations in the thousands of dollars, and each was valued and appreciated and honestly, needed. But when I think about philanthropy as the giving of time and talent for the love of humanity, this year our students lived out the original Greek translation the best.

Our middle school students, with the support of some incredible teachers, conceived of the idea of a “Free Store”, where people could come and “shop” for items they needed without paying any money. The students spent their school year collecting donations monthly for different “departments” if you will: personal hygiene, clothing, school supplies, and food. They ordered shopping bags, advertised the store’s opening, and sorted and displayed their stock so customers could shop efficiently and with joy. On the day of the store’s inaugural opening, they welcomed over 50 customers! The students donated their time and talent in the hope of making short- and long-term improvements to the quality of life for the people in their community. That my friends, is full-on original Greek “love of humanity”.

So, why do people give? This morning, maybe inspired subconsciously by my beloved Ted Lasso, I woke up with my simple answer: People give because they believe. I give to the American Cancer Society and to the ALS Association because I believe there will be researchers who will find a cure for these diseases. I believe in Jesus, so I contribute to my church knowing it will live out the promise of Christ and do good things in the world. I donate to my children’s school because I believe the teachers are educating my whole child-- body, mind, and spirit. I donate to schools from which I graduated, because I believe they will have as meaningful an impact on current students as they had on me. I donate to different causes my friends are supporting because I believe that they too believe in something valuable. And children conceive of a free store and open it up to the members of their community who are in need, because they believe this will help make people they don’t even know yet feel fully loved and known.

I am grateful Father Tim asked me the question “Why Cyndy, did people give?” because it forced me to step away from the spreadsheets and numbers, the campaigns and mailing lists, and the stress that comes with making sure enough money is raised, and it allowed me to think honestly about why the world is chock full of philanthropists! In my humble experience, people give because they believe. I hope that as adults, we each take time to think about what it is we believe, and then dedicate our time, talent, and treasure to supporting and fulfilling those beliefs. And we can all sleep well at night, knowing the next generation is working hard for the love of humanity, donating time and talent, believing in making the world a better place where everyone is fully known and loved. So maybe there should be a new bullet point on the “why people give” slide that borrows a little something from the Greeks!