Giving Compass' Take:

• Doug Andrew argues that charitable programs that engage individuals in improving their own lives are more effective than hand outs. 

• Do you agree with his assessment? How can funders work to build programs that engage communities without overburdening them? 

• Learn about the difference between charity and philanthropy. 

Many believe the idea that “charity begins at home,” and strive to live by this principle. However, the word “charity” can have a negative connotation as well, with some believing charity can lead to dependence and entitlement. That negativity often comes from getting a hand-out versus a hand up.

Here’s an example to paint the picture of the difference between ‘a hand up versus a hand-out.’ Roy Hammond, a Utah dentist who opened his dental practice in 1967, decided 25 years ago to take his expertise to places where adults and children had no access to proper dental care. The dental care isn’t provided as just charity. Patients are required to pay from $1 to $3 per treatment, which is actually quite a large sum in a place where the average per-day earning is $1. The money is to make sure they have “skin in the game” — making them even more invested in their own dental health.

The difference in the attitudes of the children attending the dental clinic is striking. In the Dominican Republic, children waited calmly and respectfully for their turn to see the dentist or the hygienist — while the children in places where dental care was pure charity were sometimes less than polite or grateful.

The well-worn saying “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime” couldn’t be more applicable here. This, then, is the difference between giving a hand up instead of a hand-out.

Read the full article about giving a hand up instead of a hand out by Doug Andrew at Medium.