Judging Others Philanthropy
With the closing of the end of the year, I've heard a lot of discussion about December/calendar year-end giving over the past several weeks. Unfortunately, in certain conversations, I've heard complaints from people about others’ philanthropy. Judgmentally. And all the negative surrounds the idea of people's choices or amounts that they've chosen to give. It’s very disconcerting.
I am such an enthusiast for podcasts. One of my favorites is the Tony Kornheiser Show. Tony is a former writer and columnist, for years with the Washington Post, and is now a TV sports celebrity on ESPN with his show Pardon the Interruption. On his podcast, Tony sometimes talks about different philanthropic engagements he's involved with. There are some animal shelters and adoption agencies that he likes as well as serving on the board of his alma mater university. But there's something he says that I think we could all pay more attention to.
While he is very clear he makes a good deal of money from television, he insists that someone else's choices of philanthropy are their own--- and that even giving a single dollar is of great value. Basically, he articulates that your decisions are yours and that any generosity is a good thing.
This seems so logical and simple. Why wouldn't we celebrate anyone’s decision to want to help someone else?
Unfortunately, in some of the conversations I've had, people have been somewhat negative about other people's decisions and their philanthropy. In one case it was why a couple chose one nonprofit over another. In another conversation, there was resentment that someone was not giving more considering how much they have. Conversations left me contemplative enough that I wanted to comment on it here.
Anything anyone does to help someone else is a good thing. As human beings, we could always be more aware and more engaged with those who need it the most. At our dinner table every night during our blessing, I ask for guidance for all of us in our family to realize the great gifts of our lives and most importantly share them with those who are less fortunate. But being negative towards someone who generously gave whatever it is they chose to seems to be the antithesis of the basic premise of philanthropy. I truly hope I run into this downtrodden viewpoint less often.
