Unconscious giving made conscious
GIVING
BY KIM DONAHOE Director of Marketing and Communications, Southwest Florida Community Foundation

I read in a news article online, that the United States is considered a "stingy" nation and was 20th out of the 22 major donor countries in providing foreign aid for the year 2005.

To say the least, I was shocked until I continued to read. The reporter then made the distinction that while our country's government does not give as much, its citizens do.

Carol Adelman, director of the Center for Global Philanthropy at the Hudson Institute, has studied how much individual Americans have given globally. She said that it's a myth that Americans are "stingy."

Adelman published some of the institute's findings in the Index of Global Philanthropy which found that in 2005 the United States government distributed about $28 billion in foreign aid while American individuals donated about $33.5 billion.

The Giving USA Foundation estimates total charitable contributions (both domestic and foreign) in the U.S. for 2006 at $295 billion, an increase of 4.2 percent over the previous year.

While these numbers are impressive and dispute the argument of whether or not the United States is a "giving" country, they don't begin to take into account the many "small" ways Americans give of themselves every day in their own communities.

I'm talking about the things that can't be measured in a statistical study. But you recognize them when you've benefited from them.

Giving at home

Americans give in so many small ways every day - buying Girl Scout cookies to support a neighborhood troop, dropping change in the donation tin on the counter at the convenience store, bringing in the mail for someone who's out of town, serving on the school's PTA, or checking on the elderly neighbor whose car hasn't moved in a few days. These all are small things that add to the strength and fabric of our community.

What makes a philanthropist?

You don't have to be rich or retired to be philanthropic. Philanthropy by definition is "a love of mankind; benevolence toward the whole human family; universal good will."

Mother Teresa said, "If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one."

My point is that you don't have to give as much as Warren Buffett or Bill Gates to be a philanthropist. You probably already are a philanthropist in so many ways that you haven't even considered.

If we do so much for each other every day without thinking about it, imagine what we could accomplish if we consciously make it a point to give of yourself for the good of our community each day.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry through endowed funds for more than 30 years. With assets of more than $57 million and 314 endowed funds, the community foundation has provided more than $30 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves.

For more information, please call 274-5900, or visit their web site at www.floridacommunity.com.