What Prompts Us to Give? Balancing Head and Heart

eJewish Philanthropy Jun 14, 2019
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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What Prompts Us to Give? Balancing Head and Heart

Giving Compass’ Take:

• Andrés Spokoiny writes on his personal experiences, moral reasons, emotional aspects and what motivates him to give back. 

• Where are you in your giving journey? How can this advice help guide your philanthropic donations?

• Here’s an article on expanding the reach of effective altruism. 

Ask most people what motivates philanthropy and they’ll probably say, “generosity.” But generosity isn’t simple. People give charity for many and overlapping reasons: tax advantages, social pressure (my friend asked me), ego (I want my name on a building), enlightened self-interest (I know a society that helps the powerless will be more prosperous and stable than a purely greedy society), admiration for particular leaders or institutions, outrage at injustice, empathy for people who are suffering, passion for culture, religious conviction, gratitude and a desire to give back, or countless other reasons.

Which motivations drive us – or rather, since competing motivations sometimes drive us in opposite directions, which motivations drive us most dominantly – can make a significant impact on how much we give, what causes we choose, what grantees foundations choose to support, how we structure or limit our grants, and every other aspect of our philanthropy. So, it’s worth asking ourselves: What thoughts and emotions are really prompting me to give?

Read the full article about balancing head and heart when giving back by Andrés Spokoiny at eJewish Philanthropy.

Since you are interested in Impact Philanthropy, have you read these selections from Giving Compass related to impact giving and Impact Philanthropy?

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    Social Innovation Fund Pay for Success Support: Impact Beyond Launch

    Giving Compass' Take: • America Forward discusses the Social Innovation Fund, a federal program that tries to tackle some of our country's toughest problems, and how it transitioned to a Pay for Success model. • The upshot here is that federal funding based on measurable outcomes is still in its early stages, but shows a lot of promise. How would it differ from other PFS models? • Learn how PFS can be a vehicle for systems change. Since its authorization as a federal program, the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) has been aimed at finding and growing the most promising solutions to our nation’s most pressing challenges. The original model of the SIF, known as SIF Classic, is focused on directing federal resources (matched 1:1 by non-federal and private dollars) to support community-based organizations and solutions that have evidence that they work to help grow and scale them nationwide. Beginning in fiscal year 2014, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) was authorized to allocate up to 20 percent of the funding for the SIF to test an approach known as Pay for Success (PFS). Aligned with the established mission of the SIF, this second model known as SIF Pay for Success (SIF PFS), allocates federal funding, again with a required 1:1 match, to support feasibility studies and transaction structuring efforts. This additional focus of SIF funding on PFS supports efforts to identify and scale evidence-based solutions, as SIF Classic does, but also tests the idea of allocating government funding based on the achievement of results or outcomes. When CNCS launched its first competition under the new PFS authority, Third Sector Capital Partners (Third Sector) was one of eight organizations to receive funding to launch a competition to identify jurisdictions and providers interested in receiving PFS support and technical assistance. Many of these initial eight grantees, including Third Sector, initially defined the success of this work as developing PFS contracts and launching projects. However, it became clear for Third Sector that the work it was doing with the nine communities and organizations it chose as part of its first SIF PFS cohort would be deemed successful for reasons beyond contract launch. Read the full article about Social Innovation Funds and pay for success by Nicole Truhe at America Forward.

Are you ready to give?

In addition to learning and connecting with others, taking action is a key step towards becoming an impact giver. If you are interested in giving with impact for Effective Altruism take a look at these Giving Funds, Charitable Organizations or Projects.

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