Ties That Bind: The Relationship Benefits of Philanthropy
We often think of philanthropy as solely benefitting the recipient organization, but that is rarely the case. Philanthropy provides multiple benefits beyond the recipient organization. Society benefits from the gift in multiple ways including benefits such as cleaner air and water; libraries that provide books for free; community programming including the arts; and human development programs. Beyond benefitting nonprofits and society, philanthropy also provides benefits to the giver.
One key benefit is the connection that philanthropy provides with other people. Philanthropy connects people to one another in pursuit of a solution to a challenge. In 1624, the English poet John Donne wrote as part of Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, "No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. ... Any man's death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind." Almost 400 years later, those words still ring true. Philanthropy fulfills our human need for connection and relationships by connecting us via our shared goals and values, creating a bond between the giver and the recipient, and promoting collaboration. While one person may not be able to solve homelessness, their giving collectively with others can have a significant impact on addressing homelessness in a community.
Through your philanthropy, as a donor, you are able to direct the changes that you want to see in society. Essentially, philanthropy is creating actions to transform society according to your values. This tradition has deep roots. In the early 20th century, Julius Rosenwald partnered with Booker T. Washington and Tuskegee Institute to build more than 5,000 schools across the segregated South, a model of philanthropy that required the community's own investment alongside his. That same instinct to invest boldly in HBCUs echoes in more recent giving, including MacKenzie Scott's unrestricted gift to Tuskegee and Bloomberg Philanthropies' recent investments in HBCU medical schools and charter school pipelines. One generation's giving lays the track that others build on.
Sharing your gifts, regardless of whether it is your skills, your time, or your money enable you to interact with others who possess those same values and priorities for the changes that you want to create. The act of sharing places you at the center of a community with other people similar to you. As a result of your giving back, you have a place to belong. Just as philanthropy creates a definite connection to others, researchers (Cojuharenco, Cornelissen, and Karelaia) have determined that feeling connected to others inspires increased tendencies to give back. Giving Circles mirror this trend with donors, typically women, pooling funds together to designate a particular charitable organization annually to receive pooled funds.
When you give someone something, you do it, because you care about the recipients. In the same way, philanthropy ties you to another person and illustrates in a meaningful way that you care about them. Sonja Lyubomirsky describes the act of philanthropy as creating an intimacy between the giver and the recipient. You share the experience and become bonded in some way as a result. Philanthropy expresses your care and concern for others and strengthens your relationship with them. Your investment in a nonprofit or an individual via a scholarship creates an increased interest in a successful outcome. It is equivalent to becoming a fan of a team.
As a pure transaction, philanthropy is an exchange between two or more people. As a philanthropist, you share your resources with someone else, who can use those resources to implement the changes that you want to envision. The most impactful philanthropy transcends beyond the transaction and incorporates transformation. Compounded interest on philanthropy is not cash back but rather knowing that you were part of making life genuinely better for others. Because of this, philanthropy promotes and is always about collaboration. One person or entity cannot do everything; we must work together. Professors and researchers, Brent Simpson and Robb Willer, have further determined in their studies that even more cooperation and benefits occur to the giver beyond collaborating with the recipient, since the recipient or an outside third party will often reward the generosity of the giver.
As a society, philanthropy provides a key tie that binds us together. This is often why you see high levels of giving after a disaster. We, as humans, want to help and connect with others with the goal of making society better and stronger. James Hodge best describes the relational benefits of philanthropy, "The spirit of our work in philanthropy requires being in genuine relationships with fellow travelers who have the potential to improve the world."
When we focus solely on philanthropy as a transaction between a donor and a recipient organization, we completely miss the nuances and successes that philanthropy delivers to everyone involved. We become too consumed by the profits instead of the people involved. As humanitarians and as those facilitating the work of and because of philanthropy, we need to prioritize the connections, the benefits, and the people.
Fullanthropy Perspective:
A gift without connection is a transaction. A giver who feels genuinely connected to your mission becomes a partner, an advocate, and a returning donor, because you have made them feel as though they are integral to your success.
The nonprofits that struggle most with retention, whether of donors or of development staff, are rarely struggling because they lack a good cause. They are struggling because they have not built the relational infrastructure that makes people want to stay involved.
You can assess whether you are doing that for free by answering some yes/no questions at Chart Your Impact™.