A couple of years ago, I was googling my dad for some reason, and the first page that happened to come up was a press release from a university: my dad and mom had donated a boatload of money. In fact, they'd donated enough money that the university blew the trumpets and waved the public relations flag, in hopes of encouraging like-minded philanthropists to be similarly generous.
I tell you, it gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that my dad's internet legacy leads off with generosity. And the small mountain of physics publications and connections that follows after that first link isn't bad, either.
One of my early childhood memories is of my dad explaining the check he was writing. He told me that the Ku Klux Klan was coming to town, and that there were people who thought they shouldn't get a chance to speak. He told me that he disagreed with everything the KKK stands for, but he was sending money to a group that was dedicated to making sure all voices --- even unpopular ones --- got the chance to speak out loud. That conversation made a huge impression on me, both because of the bizarre juxtaposition of intolerance and inclusion, but also because it planted the seeds of directed donation in my little 7-year-old head.
So last week, with our annual family dOnnOr coming up in the near future, I took advantage of being with my dad on family vacation to ask him about his approach to giving money. I asked, and the first thing he did was start laughing: giving money "gives back", he told me. Recently he'd counted what came back to him from charities that were egging him on:
Where does my dad give his money, I asked? He said he gives to places that educate women, because it's one of the things that's shown to stem the population explosion. He gives to the arts (the opera and the symphony). Although he never served in the military, he gives to disabled American veterans, and because of that he's now on a gazillion veterans groups mailing lists. And not surprisingly, he still gives to progressive causes, like the ACLU and the People for the American Way, plus a few political candidates from Emily's List.
I tell you, it gives me the warm fuzzies knowing that my dad's internet legacy leads off with generosity. And the small mountain of physics publications and connections that follows after that first link isn't bad, either.
One of my early childhood memories is of my dad explaining the check he was writing. He told me that the Ku Klux Klan was coming to town, and that there were people who thought they shouldn't get a chance to speak. He told me that he disagreed with everything the KKK stands for, but he was sending money to a group that was dedicated to making sure all voices --- even unpopular ones --- got the chance to speak out loud. That conversation made a huge impression on me, both because of the bizarre juxtaposition of intolerance and inclusion, but also because it planted the seeds of directed donation in my little 7-year-old head.
So last week, with our annual family dOnnOr coming up in the near future, I took advantage of being with my dad on family vacation to ask him about his approach to giving money. I asked, and the first thing he did was start laughing: giving money "gives back", he told me. Recently he'd counted what came back to him from charities that were egging him on:
- "4800 mailing labels" (he claims), of which he's used 20
- 50 notepads
- 13 calendars
- pens, pocket calculators, cards
Where does my dad give his money, I asked? He said he gives to places that educate women, because it's one of the things that's shown to stem the population explosion. He gives to the arts (the opera and the symphony). Although he never served in the military, he gives to disabled American veterans, and because of that he's now on a gazillion veterans groups mailing lists. And not surprisingly, he still gives to progressive causes, like the ACLU and the People for the American Way, plus a few political candidates from Emily's List.
I still have my annual "charity envelope sort" ahead of me, as we get ready to decide the charities that we'll contribute to this year during the dOnnOr with my kids. The process still feels more random than I'd like, even though I have a partial philosophy of giving, and even though we've done a bit research into the charities we've given to in the past. But practicing giving money away with my kids still feels like a valuable exercise, even if I don't quite get it right.
Thanks, Dad!
I have a running list of places we give to but I love Donors Choose. We don't support teachers and education nearly the way we should as a nation so I love being able to directly help teachers. I also ask them not to mail us anything in return, or mail anything at all, to save their money for the important stuff. I did a whole post on our charitable giving strategy which is evolving but basically we try to support organizations doing good work in areas we believe in: CASA, local homeless shelters, animal shelters and rescue, education, more education.
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