Yes. You heard me right. Before you give another penny, take some time to reflect on the results of your giving activities.
TO GIVE IS TO KILL
- Charity Kills Self Esteem. When you give someone money to pay the power bill or the mortgage or the grocery bill, what are you really telling them? Are you delivering a message that they are not capable of taking care of themselves? They have to accept this charity from you because they are not albe to care for themsleves? I have seen it happen before. When the “giving” stops, the recipient of the gift may struggle and moan for a while, but then… they will lift themselves up, and figure out how to care for themselves.
- Charity Kills Sustainable Situations. When you pay to ship food into an impoverished area, you are feeding the people for a day. However, what is the long term lasting solution for the people in that area? They must begin to produce their own food for a lasting solution. When you ship in your gift, what have you done to the farmers in the area? Will they still be in business next year? What kind of lasting impact has your gift of food had on that community?
- Charity Kills . . . Your Charitable Ability. Huh? Yes. That is right. Just as a community must find sustainable solutions, so too must you. If you give what you have, you will have nothing left to give.
Before you jump through your screen and grab for me, let me explain. I am not suggesting that the answer is to close your heart and your wallet to the troubles of the world. Quite the opposite, actually. Open your heart. To help others is the fastest path to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
I am asking you to think more deeply about hte best way to make an impact. How can your activities make a lasting change? How can you address the route of the problem?
Here are some of my ideas.
- Deliver Financial Education to Children
- Offer Microcredit and business education to families
- Help farmers develop a sustainable crops
- Dig Wells
What ideas do you have?
Tags: charity, Making a Difference, microlending, non profit, sustainable practices
#1 written by Dana March 19th, 2009 at 08:54
I couldn’t agree more; the old adage of teach a man to fish really rings true then and now! Great article!!
#2 written by Rick – JMR Property UK March 27th, 2009 at 10:22
I also feel that you have hit the nail on the head. I am (’personally’ & ‘financially’) a very generous person – however, I feel that the charities that I donate to may not always be putting the monies to it’s best use. I feel that ‘personal’ action to help these people that the charities support, especially in mass, could indeed attain better results. “Money is only as good as the person who spends it.” – Me
Please understand that I am certain that most charities do the best they can with the resources they are given. I will always respect that. I just feel that WE, the general population, could make more of a difference, if we acted alone…. but in mass. To finish, a favourite quote from one of my Mentors, Jim Rohn: “Each of us need to understand how valuable all of us are; and all of us need to understand how valuable each of us are.”
Keep Smiling,
Rick Hignett, JMR Property UK