Spreading the gospel of wealth

It is 20 days before Christmas, and a lot of corporate or individual giving will happen in the coming days. What does it really mean to give?

Giving is an expression of generosity, charity or liberality. It occupies an important part in the teachings of most, if not all religions, and to most, is the initial step towards eliminating the defilements of greed, hatred and delusion, for every act of giving is an act of love, kindness and compassion.

Giving is a vital part of human relationships. When we are able to give, we communicate who we are, express what we think, and project how we feel. Giving is a choice, a decision one has to make from the heart. It is not simply giving away material things. It also means sharing of kindness, acting gently, providing comfort, promoting peace, developing trust, practicing patience, lending a sympathetic ear, and giving generous consideration, manifested in the way we talk, act and feel.

The act of giving usually makes the giver feel happy about the act done, since he believes that good deeds beget good results, and that with every good deed done, he could aspire for the attainment of something positive like good health, prosperity, and happiness.

In the business sense, giving is philanthropy, a term derived from the Greek word philanthropos – which means humanness, benevolence and unconditional loving. It is a corporate or individual practice which has come a long way since the time of Andrew Carnegie, a big businessman acknowledged by many to be the father of philanthropy in America. Others before him had made substantial charitable contributions, but Carnegie, according to writer Tom McNichol, "was the first to state publicly the audacious notion that the rich have a moral obligation to give away their fortunes, a philosophy which became known as the Gospel of Wealth."

Carnegie gave away his money, an act of pure altruism. Any benefits that flow back to him or his companies are merely unintended by-products of doing the right thing. Carnegie’s lifelong interest was the establishment of free public libraries as a way of making education available to everyone. There were only a few public libraries in the world when Carnegie began providing a library to almost any town that would allow the use of a site, and promised to maintain the building. By the time Carnegie died, he had given away, via his education advocacy, practically his entire net worth.

To this day, Carnegie remains the altruistic standard against which philanthropists all over the world are compared. His generosity resulted in one tangible benefit–seeing the family name plastered on impressive buildings and foundations. That’s the same benefit being reaped by Bill Gates’ modern-day personal philanthropy, which is separate from Microsoft’s corporate giving.

As an individual, Gates is particularly generous, donating millions of dollars to Harvard to fund a new electrical engineering, computing and communications facility in his name. The University of Washington Law School also benefited in a very big way from Gates and his wife Melinda French’s generosity. The couple pledged large amounts of money to put up a building to be named after Gates’ father, to establish a department of molecular biotechnology, and to fund an endowment for undergraduate students, named after his mother.

When it comes to corporate philanthropy, Gates’ Microsoft leads the way. In fact, the newsletter Corporate Giving Watch reveals that "it is the most philanthropic corporation in America." The software giant, "which devotes much of its energy trying to pauperize its competitors, seems to have a soft spot for those already poor, handling out multi-million dollars to charities." As a top-ranking corporate gift-giver, Microsoft nosed out traditional upstanding corporate alms-givers as Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly & Co. and Hewlett-Packard. Write-ups in media has portrayed it the "model corporate citizen, a company doing well by doing good."

What is the situation of giving or philanthropy like in the Philippines? "Filipinos are a giving people – a people who believe that improving lives is everybody’s business," says Marianne Quebral, executive director of Ventures for Fund Raising (VFR), a non-profit organization (NPO) which envisions a community that celebrates the joy of giving, and helps spread the Gospel of Wealth among Filipinos. VFR’s mission is to help answer the growing need among fellow NPOs to gain financial sustainability through fund raising. It promotes philanthropic giving, encouraging the Filipino public to support the programs of the non-profits.

Since the "usual suspects" for donations like big corporations and prominent names are experiencing donor fatigue, VFR’s drive to make people give has been re-directed to the general public. Individual giving, VFR found out, is less developed in this country, and thus offers a large potential market for unrestricted sources of funds and endowments. Individual donations may come in small amounts, but when combined, can yield big numbers.

In the 2001 Survey on Giving undertaken by VFR in the among AB, Upper C household members of the National Capital Region aged 15 to 64, it was reconfirmed that Filipinos have a very high predisposition to giving, either in cash or in kind, the beneficiaries of which may include relatives, friends, beggars, victim of calamities, and other needy individuals. They contribute or donate because of the special feeling of compassion for people in need, and the trust in the cause or organization asking them for donation. Giving, the survey says, also matches the Filipinos’ religious beliefs and practices. It makes them feel good, and is convinced that to give is easier than doing volunteer work.

Filipinos usually do not give to solicitors because the needs of the household take priority. Charity begins at home, so they say. Giving, the respondents state, is also put to a halt if they lost their jobs, if they simply could not afford it, or were not asked to do so. Other reasons include pressure from others, lack of trust and belief in the cause of the soliciting organization. Their refusal to give is likewise due to dissatisfaction with the staff of an NPO asking for contribution, unfamiliarity or tainted credibility of the NPO, doubts as to where the donated funds go, and uncertainty regarding the NPO’s objectives. Filipinos would only donate to organizations that are seen to be legitimate, transparent in their dealings, and are accountable for their actions.

Although more than 50 percent of the respondents are not aware of any specific NPO name, they nonetheless will contribute money to organizations that will promote social services, sports and recreation, environment issues, education and research, health programs, arts and culture projects, and housing initiatives. In the past year, the average frequency for giving is eight times for the environment, six times for social services, and two to three times for other fields.

Contributions being given by Filipinos are generated in various ways like tickets bought to a special event, home or office visitation by a person collecting for an organization, direct mailers, referrals by relatives and friends, appeals in media, street approaches, or telephone calls. Filipinos do not give money to causes, they give money to people with causes, and that they earmark donations to successful experiences, not to distressing situations.

Giving is indeed second nature to Filipinos, for they believe that this will bring back the blessings of long life, good appearance, happiness, health, and wisdom. Money is tight now, and will be tighter in the coming days and months. But one thing is for sure, in difficult times, Filipinos will dig deeper in their pockets to share whatever blessings they have to others.

"Poor indeed is a man who can only receive and not able to give."

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For comments and suggestions, e-mail CAPRI, bongo@vasia.com.