Have a Business Card, Eat a Lunch
February 22, 2016
How many times have you been stopped at an intersection of a busy city and seen a man with a handmade cardboard sign saying, “Homeless and Hungry”? Many of us try not to make eye contact, while others roll down their windows and give some loose change. If you are stopped at the intersection in a convertible with a coworker, the situation can be uncomfortable. It can feel like there is nowhere to hide. This situation happened to me this past week, and led to a lively debate about the state of charity in America.
The non-profit sector in the U.S. is actually quite bullish. Americans can be proud of the fact that we are a very charitable country. The most recent figures available are for 2014, when charitable giving was $358 billion. Total giving in the USA has increased every year since 2009, and is almost back to pre-recession levels. Charity in the US is not just coming from the rich. In fact, the more generous donors tend to be at either end of the income spectrum. Those making between $45,000 and $50,000 a year donated 4% of their earnings, and those that made $10,000,000 or more gave 5.9%. It is also interesting to note that individual giving accounts for 72% of the total, with corporations chipping in only 5%. The remainder comes from foundations (15%) and bequests (8%).
Charity comes in many forms. There are those that love to volunteer their time. Some chose to help by donating money. I used to struggle with whose choice was more valuable, but I have come to the realization that both are needed to get good deeds done.
The Charitable Aid Foundation produces a “World Giving Index” which claims to be the leading comparative measure of generosity across the globe. The Index does not look at amounts given but instead focuses on behaviors. The three criteria measured are the proportion of people who help a stranger, volunteer their time, or donate money. Under this system, the USA ranks second in the world. Surprisingly the “most charitable” country is Myanmar (formerly Burma) where 92% of people donate money to a charity. This level of philanthropy might be because the majority of Burmese people are highly devout Theravada Buddhists, and Buddhism preaches that generosity is the first of six “perfections,” or virtuous qualities, one cultivates for spiritual awakening.
Years back, a coworker and I came up with a plan to address the discomfort of facing beggars in downtown Atlanta. We cut a deal with the owner of one of our lunch venues that he would provide a meal to anyone who presented one of our business cards, and we would settle up with him later for the expense. After about three weeks of passing our cards out for the free meals, we went to settle up with our restaurant partner. To our surprise and disappointment, not a single card had been redeemed for a hot lunch. I guess we were naïve, or perhaps our restaurant partner was just not up to “street’ culinary standards.
Carl Gambrell
