Recently, Mark Zuckerberg publicly announced his decision to give away 99% of his Facebook shares to charity. His decision aligns him with several other significantly wealthy individuals who have decided to do the same: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, and others.
And their decision aligns them with countless wealthy individuals who have done similar things in the past. “A man who dies rich, dies disgraced,” Andrew Carnegie once said while giving away 90% of his personal fortune (almost $14b in today’s dollars).
I think these stories are important and I am glad they make national headlines. Some will try to discredit them or argue ulterior motives, but I don’t care. The more examples of generosity around us the better.
I will admit, however, there is one problem with these headline stories.
They are almost completely unrelatable.
When most people read about billionaires giving away money, their first reaction is typically, “Well that’s easy for them to say… if I had that kind of money, I would be generous too.”
And to an extent, they are right. When you begin talking about net worth in the billions of dollars, things seem to function a bit differently. For example, it was Neil deGrasse Tyson who first conjectured that, comparatively speaking, Bill Gates would have to stumble across $45,000 on the ground to discover the same amount in relation to his net worth that you or I would discover if we found a quarter ($0.25).
Of course, mathematics and emotions can be very different. Just because somebody has a vast amount of wealth, generosity does not necessarily come easy. In fact, some studies would seem to indicate that the more money we own, the more difficult it is to give away.
But nevertheless, “That’s easy for him to say,” is still the most common reaction to news stories similar to the one of Mark Zuckerberg. As a result, even though those stories are shared widely, they often leave us unchanged. How many people do you know went out and made a donation to charity after reading Mark Zuckerberg was giving away 99% of his wealth? Probably the same number as me: zero.
In other words, Mark’s story actually does very little to inspire generosity among a society.
But I think this might change if we start championing different stories.
For the past several years, I have been traveling this country speaking on the benefits of owning less. And I have met some amazing people along the way. Recently, I am being asked more and more often to speak about our new nonprofit organization, The Hope Effect. And whenever I do, something amazing happens… people begin sharing with me their personal stories of generous living.
People are quick to open up about the charities they passionately support. They share with me the experiences they have had volunteering at various organizations here and abroad. Many will come up to me afterwards and explain how and why they chose nonprofit work as their career. It is encouraging, it is amazing, and it is inspiring.
In fact, during an interview a few weeks back, I was asked, “What has been the greatest lesson you have learned starting a nonprofit?” Among the dozens of ideas that came to my mind, I answered with this one, “By far, the greatest thing I have learned over the past year is that there are generous, giving people everywhere you look. I have met so many people who are passionately committed to the care of orphans and other important causes, I almost can’t believe it. Everywhere I go, I meet people making sacrifices so they can live passionately generous lives.”
Unfortunately, nobody is talking about them—at least, they aren’t making national headlines. And I know why: their stories don’t convert to metrics like Mark Zuckerberg’s story.
A column about the adoptive mother in Minneapolis who dedicates two evenings/month serving on a nonprofit board placing orphans in loving homes doesn’t sell many newspapers. The full-time blogger in Nashville who fathers a family of three and makes a $5,000 donation to a cause he believes in doesn’t trend on Twitter. The middle-class family who gives away 10% of their income every week to an organization they trust doesn’t drive much Internet traffic.
But these are the stories that need to be told. Because these are the stories we can see ourselves in. These are the people with whom we can relate. And these are the people that can inspire us the most.
They have sacrificed in order to have time and money to give. And their stories challenge us to do the same. Unfortunately, the stories we need to hear are often the hardest to find.
I think we should try to change that.
During this season of giving, I think it is appropriate for us to recognize the people in our lives that have inspired generosity in us.
When you think of a generous person, who comes to your mind first? In the comment section below, would you draw attention to that certain somebody?
Comment and mention specifically the one person (or the one family) who has inspired you the most to greater generosity? My guess is, when you do, very few will mention celebrities or philanthropists. Instead, we will think of family members, neighbors, co-workers, or members of our faith community.
When you add your comment below, their stories will live on and their example will inspire even more individuals.
Practically speaking, I encourage you to be as specific as possible. Who has inspired you to generosity? Why? To what causes were they generous? What sacrifices did you see them make so they could give more? And in what ways did you see them dedicate themselves to others?
Their story may never be published in a major magazine. But today, you can champion it for us—because these are the stories we need to hear.
I learn generosity from my dad. Growing up, I saw him buying bag of grocery for single mothers with children. He never talk about it. Several years ago I send him $300.00 dollars and when I ask him if he receive the money; his replay was that he did and was so happy to buy clothes and a pair of shoes for a little neighbor hood child. I know he could have use that money on himself but he did not. You know we can not out give God. I my self have experimented it. When I do not know where money will come from, someone comes along. When we give our heart get feel with great joy that no amount of money can buy.
I know so many generous people who inspire me, but I’m choosing a wonderful homeschool mom I know. My husband taught her kids piano for several years, in between their stints living abroad doing nonprofit work. Through her, I recently learned about micro lending. Now I am researching, to pick out my first micro loan! I think it’s wonderful that I can combine my $25 with a lot of other people and actually make a difference, and I can see exactly how my money has helped someone help themselves and their community!
I support several charitable causes in various ways, monetary and otherwise, but this feels very special!
This is such an insightful article… the person who automatically came to my mind is my grandfather. One of the most powerful memories I have of him was of a lady approaching him in the hospital just before he died (he was very sick with cancer) and telling him she remembered him giving food to her family when she was a child and they were in need. I already knew he was a great man, but that moment filled me with such love and admiration. People need these stories! Giving begets giving.
Reading these comments really encourages me.
It’s so awesome to see people being generous and displaying the heart of our Father, who loves us so much!
Hi Joshua,
I’m glad I came across this post. There’s actually a website – http://www.ourbetterworld.org – whose goal is to share stories of giving by simple folk like ourselves. I think it’s still pretty young, but you should check it out.
And I definitely hear you and agree that there’s a gap between the way that people hear about acts of giving and their actual (nonexistent) act of giving. This is a gap that I’m trying to address through a blog that I’m starting. It’s going to be a long journey, but it’s a journey that must be taken, like you suggested!
Anyway, do check out http://www.ourbetterworld.org if it sounds interesting to you!
I’ve also been following up on Mark Zuckerberg’s projects, related to giving. Not only is he putting most of his Facebook shares in philanthropic projects. Mark has also joined other initiatives, like the Giving Pledge, and Breakthrough Energy Coalition. For his age, he’s one of the youngest billionaires to give much of his wealth in favor of future generations’ welfare. You can see my article about Mark’s generous year here: http://elephant.eburo.org/a-generous-year-for-mark-zuckerberg/
My sons, Tyler and Ashton had tears rolling down their eyes when they learnt that their two best friends who are brothers lost their dad to cancer early this month. They had to give the only bicycles they owned to their friends just to comfort them in their time of sorrow though my sons haven’t seen their own dad who left for another woman almost four years ago. My sons are very generous even if it means only a cup of tea to a homeless man. Iam the sole bread winner and we have very little but we manage to share where there is a need. Tyler and Ashton are a true examples of a compassionate giver. Their kind hearts inspires a lot of people!
My 8 year old daughter Dorothy chose to hold a toy drive at her birthday party this year. She donated them to the Children’s Hospital because she felt bad for kids who don’t get a normal birthday like her. God has blessed her with gifts of compassion and love. She inspires me daily with her thoughtfulness.