Donors

One much-needed kind of civic conversation focuses on giving by individual donors. Giving is an activity that many people participate in regularly–and often with unspoken uncertainty, even misgiving. How much should I give to my neighbor's child at the door, to my congregation on Sunday, to my alma mater on the occasion of its capital campaign? What organization really needs this money, and how much in order to make a real difference? Why do I feel disappointed in the effects of my giving? Is there value in a spur-of-the-moment gift?

Such questions arise naturally from decisions about giving, no matter the size of the gift. Yet few of us have opportunities for candid reflection on giving or colleagues with whom we can comfortably talk about our giving choices. As sociologist Robert Wuthnow has noted, talking about money is one of the great American taboos. When it comes to giving, this taboo gains new intensity, fueled by fears that others will judge us or, worse yet, try to manipulate us for their own purposes.

Civic reflection conversations among individual donors offer a way to explore the complexities of giving in the company of others and without the pressure of a pledge card at the end. The conversation may be held informally, among friends, in a living room, with a text as focal point. It may be offered as a formal program by a civic organization like Rotary, many of whose members are individual donors, or by a church or synagogue. Examples of several such conversations follow.

Thoughtful Giving: Philanthropy as Civic Engagement is a program sponsored by the Maine Humanities Council with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Different kinds of groups–from individual donors and general audiences, to Rotary clubs, to parents and children in literacy programs–meet to explore the intersections between giving, serving, and civic life. Why do people give? Why do certain people give to certain causes but not to others? How do you know if your giving is doing any good?

Giving in America: Tradition, Challenge and Choice convened individuals in Fort Wayne, Indiana who are actively involved in giving through volunteering, fundraising, foundation leadership, trusteeship, and individual giving over the course of six months to explore fundamental questions like: What does it mean to give well? How can we give more effectively? How can we encourage others to give? This conversation spawned other study circles, including an inter-generational effort that brought together parents and children of several families for reading and conversation about giving.

Adult New Readers, the Maine Humanities Council's signature literacy program for adult new readers called New Books, New Readers, has now expanded to include texts on giving and serving for parents and children. Based on the concept of opening the world of literature to adults who are new to books or not in the habit of reading, New Books New Readers participants, in cooperation with their adult literacy tutors, read a series of books, drawn from the best of children's literature and discuss them in facilitated small group sessions.

Generosity of Spirit and the American Tradition brought together members of a voluntary association for women in South Bend, Indiana interested in philanthropy to discuss fundamental questions of giving with special attention to American women. Readings included selections by Catherine Beecher, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henri Nouwen, and Eudora Welty. When the seminar concluded, the group continued to meet to explore opportunities for giving and serving in South Bend.