Charity Giving
It’s good to be blogging again after taking a hiatus to record the audio version of my book (sneak preview: the print, ebook and eAudio book versions will be out in February – stay tuned for more details on that!). I’ve missed hearing from folks. To that end, today’s blog is more about questions than thoughts, with an imagery exercise – I look forward to everyone’s responses!
In this month’s World Ark (the magazine of Heifer International), they publish several facts about charitable giving in the United States. Two things leap out at me. The first is this: In 2011 Individuals gave $218 billion dollars to charities. That compares to $42B by foundations and $15B by corporations – it’s this last number I’m really curious about.
$218B vs. $15B. Individuals giving vs. corporate giving. This is a huge difference! Even in light of the trend toward “Corporate Social Responsibility” and what Carly Fiorina (and others) has called “Compassionate Capitalism”. I wonder what we are to make of this? Is there a difference in philosophy between individual and corporation? Is it that corporations give in other ways, by providing jobs? Is it even within ballpark to ask if corporations give to charities? If so, why?
All these questions (which are but the tip of the iceberg of questions) brings to mind the research study that composed my dissertation work. In that I asked people from two different countries to see the image they have of theirs, and the other, country. My analysis was comparing the two, and the results are fascinating. So today I ask: What is your image of a corporation?
Here’s the exercise:
Close your eyes, breathe out three times counting backwards from 3-1, seeing the number one as tall clear and very bright. And then see what is the image you have for a corporation. Be sure to describe it to yourself n full detail, including any sensations that might accompany it. As soon as you’ve seen, breathe out and open your eyes.
I am curious to hear about the images you see, and curious to know if this opens your eyes to seeing something new, or a new perspective.
Image is our blueprint. I hear many calling these days for the world to change. In order for that to happen we must first see the image we are starting with so that we can describe the change we wish to occur. This is why I say often that one of the most powerful instruments (if not “the”) of social change is the imagination. If we can see it, we can create it.
One last statistic worth noting in the article: Calculating giving as a percentage of income, the group that is the most charitable is the one that is the neediest.
Where are we, world? I look forward to your responses…
(Statistics on Individual v. Corporate giving from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University; Statistics on giving as percentage of income from The Urban Institute)
