Feel Good AND Do (the most) Good

Philanthropy is such a personal decision that I refuse to say that anyone is doing it wrong. But this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy by David Comerford helped me organize some thoughts that have been swirling for me.

I've been alarmed at how frequently I have heard people express they do not like to support not-for-profit organizations because they want to "really help" people. Having now spent more than half my professional life in this sector, I want to first emphatically say that the overwhelming majority of not-for-profit organizations do an AMAZING job really helping people with skill and leverage no one of us could hope to replicate. But going deeper, I have wondered where that feeling comes from. Here are Dr. Comerford's thoughts:

"Logically, we might expect that people would donate more to help a group of eight people in a humanitarian disaster than to help just one of those eight people. Yet the results of experiments reliably show that people offer higher amounts ?offer higher amounts ?if asked for a donation to help a single, identifiable victim than to save that person and a group of others as well.

One explanation for this anomaly is that, when there is just one person’s problem to be solved, we can feel proud that our donation went a long way toward making a difference. When the recipient is a group, responsibility for having fixed the problem is diffused and even a large donation can feel like a drop in the ocean."

The fact that it feels good to do good things for other people is, in my opinion, one of the single best things in the human design. My hope is that for those of us who care so much about helping others, that we can channel that lovely design feature to feeling best about our collective impact as opposed to what we personally might be able to take credit for. In Dr. Comerford's words:

"When you are considering acting in response to the Ukrainian crisis, it can be helpful to identify ... your own motives. Our research suggests a way to do this is to ask the following questions: “What feels like the right thing to do?” and “What are the likely outcomes of that action for those I want to help?”

If you cannot clearly articulate the benefits of the action to those you want to help, this could be a sign [to reconsider] .... [S]imply asking the question might bring up alternative actions that would achieve greater benefits. For instance, if the goal is to help people who have been left homeless in Ukraine, a little research online will quickly reveal that donating goods is not as helpful as donating cash. If you want to give financial support, then consideration as to who will benefit most from your money will probably shift your priorities away from those who own properties on Airbnb.

The opportunity to help others is so vast and there is so much room for direct aid, mutual aid, advocacy, volunteerism, in-kinds gifts AND supporting vetted and trusted not-for-profit organizations. This last category--support for not-for-profit organizations--is especially vital when we want to reach the largest possible section of people and people without deep personal networks or the ability to connect with hundreds of strangers who might be moved to give.

To the professionals in the not-for-profit sector right here in the Milwaukee area, in the countries supporting refugees seeking safety from the war in Ukraine, and everywhere else across the globe, thank you for all the ways you use your expertise, knowledge and heart to serve. You, and everyone supporting your hard work, are making this world a safer and better place.