Last Friday was a day of service at our foundation’s D.C. office, and it was great to join so many of my colleagues volunteering at N Street Village, a local shelter for homeless women. For me, it was a chance to experience the two-way benefits of generosity: growing in heart and mind through helping others.
In my work at the foundation, I encounter and am inspired by changemakers and those who engage in acts of generosity every day. Here in the U.S., giving and volunteering to nonprofits has long been the backbone of philanthropy. That phenomenon is changing in important ways: giving and volunteering to 501c3 organizations is down, while new modes of generosity are on the rise: crowdfunding, direct person-to-person donations, along with the rise of political activism.
The just-released The Generosity Commission’s 2024 report, which our foundation supported, takes a look at these trends and seeks to understand their implications. It not only probes possible factors driving the decline, such as economic inequality, declining religiosity and changes in tax policy, but also sheds light on innovations in giving, on how generosity in America is being reshaped, and ways to promote giving in all its forms.
I urge all to read the report and take a beat: consider what each of us can do to grow generosity in our spheres. We know we can’t achieve our goals for better lives and livelihoods alone, but we can make great strides in partnership with others.
The Aspen Institute Mike Gianoni Jane Wales
https://lnkd.in/et2CFDC9
What a great video! Thank you, Buckingham for sharing our passion for building up our community and joining us for another year of Women Build!