The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Have you wondered what’s behind that unusual saying that ‘to give is better than to receive’? I’m not sure it made a lot of sense to me growing up, especially close to birthdays and Christmas! Isn’t giving something you do on anniversaries or as a response to one-off appeals? Isn’t it mostly the preserve of the super-committed, super-wealthy, super-endowed, or the so-called “philanthropists”?

I’m not so sure.

The principle may originally be faith-based but I saw another side thanks to Mental Health Awareness Week which a number of companies, including us at Julius Baer, marked in the UK last month.

Amongst the wealth of advice on offer on how mental well-being can be strengthened was the NHS’s five tips for mental well-being. Coming in at No.4 was the slightly surprising ‘give to others’. According to the NHS, giving promotes connectedness and reduces loneliness. It also boosts feelings of personal purpose, positivity, and self-worth.

This was certainly the case for our employees in London who raised awareness for mental health in May by handing out 3,000 yellow roses to the public. The simplicity of handing someone a rose, bringing a smile and lifting their mood (once they’d got past their astonishment), was incredibly rewarding for those involved. There was a palpable, positive buzz around the office after each group returned.

Financial planning involves the head but giving engages the heart and has as much a part in financial planning as any other strategy.

Few of us could have been left untouched by events that unfolded in cities such as Mariupol over the past weeks. Whether we’ve chosen to open our homes to refugees, as some of our colleagues have, donate items of clothing or dig that little bit deeper into our pockets, there’s rarely been such an abundance of opportunities for us to share what we have with others.

Giving in this way can help us to unite with a community and feel empowered by our decision to ‘join the fight’ from home.

A few months ago, we interviewed Dave Erasmus, founder of digital donation platform Givey, on our Julius Baer True Connections podcast. Something that particularly struck me was Dave’s description of giving as a ‘habit’ akin to eating healthily and exercising regularly (yes…both things I need to work on…). Dave explained that as giving to others is something we know is good for us, we should aim to practice it in our every day.??

Dave’s argument was that when you share what you have with somebody else, it creates a knock-on effect that transcends transactional values. I believe this is true also on a psychological level in that giving can go beyond our ‘head’ and change our heart. Simply put, the personal value obtained through regular giving can far outweigh the cost of doing so.

A good number of our clients give philanthropically to various causes, sometimes directly, sometimes through Donor Advised Funds or Foundations. This increasing trend isn’t confined to the wealthiest, however: the past decade has brought with it a democratisation of philanthropy and more people than ever are getting involved in regular giving. We all have something to give whether that be our time, skills, or finances. We can all be philanthropists whether we have a little or a lot.?

Money certainly doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy opportunities for happiness when we share it. Experience shows us that giving is both an act of kindness to others as well as to ourselves.

“Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth... Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it.’ – Sir John Templeton, Investor and philanthropist (1912-2008)