Charity v. Generosity

I shard this in a recent newsletter that went to our most loyal donors.

W. Kent Barnds

Charity v. Generosity

Recently an organization asked to register Augustana College among the "charitable organizations" it encourages its stakeholders to support. I reviewed this list, but found myself thinking that Augustana College is not like many of the organizations listed, because we are not a charity and we do not ask for charitable donations.

There may be a fine line between charity and generosity, but I'd like to think you support Augustana College not from a sense of duty, but out of appreciation and joy for what Augustana means to you.

While both are purposeful, charity and generosity are different. I found a blog post by Joe Van Deuren to be quite compelling.

He writes, "Generosity is a virtue, a gift of character that every child and human have within." He continues, "There is a difference between generosity and charity, though. When we give to those that have very few [sic] treasures we are practicing charity. When we give and share with others things that we value and are our favorites we are generous."

Generosity is a deliberate expression of appreciation and value. Generosity is something we hope to build into the culture at the college at a time when student debt and the value of liberal arts education are constantly in the news. We know that we need to celebrate and highlight generosity as a virtue.

At Augustana College, generosity matters. #generosity #philanthropy #donors #fundraising #advancement