Lucy Bernholtz often talks about Chex Mix.
Bernholtz, a senior researcher at Stanford University’s Center for Charity and Civil Society, does not want people to consider only one type of donation: a 10-digit pledge to grab headlines from millionaires and their foundations.
According to her, philanthropy is like a beloved bar snack. There are various components, all of which help to make your party favorites delicious.
“If you’re just looking for pretzels, you miss the Chex Mix,” she says.
In her new book, How We Give Now: A Philanthropic Guide for the Rest of Us, Bernholz travels primarily throughout the United States and is of the low-income and working class who donate time, money, and other resources, including online. I talked to a group of people. Data about yourself.
She runs a donation circle, donates time at food banks, and philanthropic activities from these people that allow children to safely move between schools, as Safe Passage volunteers have done for over a decade. There was no shortage of efforts. San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.
The Associated Press spoke with Bernholz about her discoveries and how they shape philanthropy. She is the Associated Press, Charitable Chronicles, and Conversations, November 4th.
The interview was edited for clarity and length.
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Q: Why did you want to write this book?
A: The charity really only counts donating money to nonprofits. Without looking at all of these other things, you may not understand why that one act has ascending and descending. For most of us, our time, our money, our profits are not infinite. Therefore, if you choose to do one thing, you may not choose to do another. And we need to better understand their dynamics.
Q: What Safe Passage is doing in San Francisco is a type of donation that I haven’t heard much about these days.
A: It’s easy to forget that such an activity is a charitable activity. Not the Gates Foundation. That’s another thing. One of the things we heard loudly and clearly from the people who spoke at these workshops across the country is that everything they think gives is actually about joining the community, joining the world. Is that.
Q: There was much debate between the newly proposed tax law and the revelation that the United States would become a tax haven for the ultra-rich, how tax incentives would affect charitable donations. Did you find it in your research?
A: It never came up in our conversation. Only when we grow it. What’s fascinating about that is that only 8% of Americans bother to get a charity tax deduction on their tax returns. Currently, the only policy idea that the philanthropic industry is interested in is taxation. They serve 8% of the population. And I know 8% is not Mark Zuckerberg. Not Pierre Omidia. Not Laurene Powell Jobs. They all say: I’m going to do LLC. It gives you more control and anonymity. Therefore, about 8% of people care about it. In poker, they would call it tell. Until the non-profit and philanthropic industry begins advocating paying taxes to truly wealthy people, I think it is quite legitimate to see the industry as a whole as a wealth protection mechanism.
Q: There is a current debate over the word charity. There are “little-p philanthropy” which means caring for other human beings and “capital-p philanthropy” which is the Gates Foundation.
A: I don’t know if this might be a mean answer, but I don’t really care much about that word. But when our imagination is limited to “philanthropy = a great foundation for nonprofits,” I think we are actually hurting ourselves as democracy.
Q: Does it mean people who don’t give MacKenzie Scott-style money somewhere and think what they’re doing isn’t really important?
A: There is an industry of “capital P philanthropy”. I don’t blame promoters, numerous accounting and law firms, family offices, consulting firms like McKinsey, media attention, and some of my fellow scholars. Charitable scholarships focus on the big names. So it’s easy to understand that the rest of us don’t think we’re doing what it is. We are not doing what MacKenzie Scott is doing. I’m not writing a check big enough to radically change the behavior of an organization or focus on a problem. But we keep the community moving. Collecting small donations has enormous power.
Q: Collective action is important.
A: Whether you have money or not, doing it with others will make you more powerful. Maybe you can be with your neighbor and serve that person in your block who needs it a warm meal. After that, it will lead to greater activity. I want the people of the country to see that you are already doing this, and it is important and it can make a difference. Let’s do more. Let’s celebrate it.
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To hear Bernholtz speak at 4 pm on November 4th in “Millions of Differences: How Americans Give”, the Associated Press, a philanthropic and conversation chronicle co-sponsored a free virtual Register the event at https: //. bit.ly/GIVERegister. The Associated Press is supported by Lily Donations for philanthropic and non-profit coverage. AP is solely responsible for all content. For all coverage of AP’s philanthropy, please visit https://ift.tt/3bRtSuz.
Author Reminder: Charity is not defined by money | WGN Radio 720
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