Philanthropy in the World: More Than One Meaning

By: Abby
Abby is a participant in Allowance for Good's Autumn 2014 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers class. 

Although my time is limited in Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy (ELP), I have learned that philanthropy has more than one meaning. The literal meaning of philanthropy is "the desire to promote the welfare of others". The etymological meaning of philanthropy is "the love of humanity". Yet, as I sit here on a Tuesday night in Evanston, IL, writing this blog post, it has finally hit me: philanthropy is not restricted to the definition of a dusty dictionary sitting on my desk.

Last session, we continued studying the types of philanthropy in depth. We discussed two "main" types of philanthropy: corporate and venture. Venture philanthropy is focused on the willingness to take risks and experiment, having a long-term structure set up, and focus on direct engagement from the donors with their grantees. Corporate philanthropy is focused on the belief that a company needs to be responsible for its actions-ethically, socially, or environmentally. Also, corporate philanthropy is a huge supporter of corporate giving, which is a grant making program established in a profit-making company. it is from these programs that gifts or grants are distributed to charitable organizations. Learning about these two different types of philanthropy interested me a lot because it made me think about myself when I get older. I want to become involved in a company that are corporate philanthropists and give back to the community.

For the second half of the session, we had Allowance for Good Associate Board members Tife and Ryan talk with us about what we have learned so far. Tife grew up in Nigeria and then moved to Chicago later in life. The first company he worked for were "terrible philanthropists" (as he put it), meaning that they did not give back to the community and really did not involve themselves in it. However, when he received a new job at a real estate company, that completely changed. Tife informed us that at his job now, he receives an email once a month that asks what charity/organization he would like to donate to. His company matches tries their best to match his donation request and donates it to that company. Ryan, born and raised in Hinsdale, IL, is a credit analyst at Northern Trust. He told us a lot about his occupation and what he enjoys about work, but what really stuck with me were what he calls his "3 Pillars". They were:
1) Always, always, always stay curious.
2) Know your environment.
3) Know your limits & defy them...but also know your job/responsibility and do not become suffocated.

I know for a fact that these 3 pillars will help me grow as a young woman, student, philanthropist, and overall a human being. Staying curious is the beginning of a question, which leads to an interest, which leads to a passion. ELP has really been the beginning "question" phase for me. I have never been that passionate about any specific world problem; of course, I wanted to change them all. Coming to ELP has helped me realize that even though I may not have a certain passion now, there is always something I can do to help people in the world who are not as privileged as me.

I know this is going to sound very cliche, but there is only one world humans live in (unless we magically find Earth's twin in the universe). Humans are not the only beings on Earth, but we are the most powerful beings. It is our duty to help each other while protecting the ground we step on, the air we breath, and the grass we mow. So, to end the post the same way as Ryan ended our session, "We are rich through only what we give. We are poor through only what we refuse."

Abby stands in front of her favorite leadership quote during an activity in ELP: Explorers.

Using Philanthropy for Gender Equality

By: Hannah
Hannah is a participant in Allowance for Good's Autumn 2014 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers class. 

Recently, I have become quite a feminist. Not the stereotypical, angry, hairy-legged feminist, but the person who genuinely believes that the world needs to see men and women as equals. Nothing makes me more disappointed than hearing about the injustices women suffer of a daily basis just by being female. Don’t get me wrong, I have always been in support of gender equality, but only in the past few months have I become so attuned to extent of the problem both local and worldwide.

If I were to be fortunate enough to have a family foundation, I would dedicate it to making the woman’s voice heard through education. I choose education because the only way to make lasting change is by inspiring the next generation. School teaches young girls more than just academics—it teaches them they have a future. It teaches them they have power to do anything they set their mind to and will create the spark needed to for us to obtain true gender equality.

Most of my family foundation’s money would go to help international organizations dedicated to ending the gender gap in places like the Middle East where sexism is most prominent. This is because the money would make the most dramatic difference there, and I would want each penny to be used as efficiently as possible. I would also give to organizations that support women’s health because it is equally important for women to be educated in body and mind. After all, happiness and success are only possible in good health.

The rest of the money would go to organizations that focus on women’s rights in the US because American women experience sexism on a daily basis. We have come a long way, but the end of gender-based discrimination is still far off. One staggering statistic is the fact that females make up fifty percent of college graduates, but only five percent of CEOs. That resonates with me because it points out exactly what we have accomplished and what still needs to be done. It shows we have given girls dreams, but we have not turned them into reality just yet. I think that if women’s rights organizations get the support they need, we have a real chance of creating a tomorrow where no woman is disadvantaged just because of her sex.

Hannah works with her ELP classmates to create their theoretical family foundation.

Teen Explores Individual Philanthropy, Passions

By: Sadie
Sadie is a participant in Allowance for Good's Autumn 2014 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers class. 

Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others. Helping others is a key component of human nature and can benefit the giver and the receiver. Thus far, ELP has taught me what it means to be a catalyst for good and how you can bring the concept of philanthropy into your everyday life as well as the future. Being a young catalyst for good means that you will do everything in your power to help those near and far and to raise awareness for issues you are passionate about. Personally, I am a catalyst for good because everyone around the globe deserves to be safe, happy, and healthy and deserves to have the basic needs of life that I and many others are so lucky to have.

I have realized that I, as part of my family and various communities, have been a philanthropist most of my life. My family has given holiday gifts to families in need for years, donated to various organizations, and I have volunteered at soup kitchens and other community events and have been involved in community service club at school. I have always envisioned being a philanthropist in the future. I am not yet sure if this entails setting aside parts of my income or something bigger, like something that has to do with my career.

This past week in Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy: Explorers, we learned about human rights. We began by reading and analyzing the Universal Declaration of Rights (created by the United Nations). These rights included some as simple as “don’t discriminate” and others such as “the right to education.” After reading these thirty items, we decided that they all should be basic human rights but the majority of them are not followed globally. We also looked at the UN Millenium Development Goals, the goal is for these to be completed by 2015. After studying different opinions of human rights, I have decided that one cause I am particularly passionate about is education.

I believe that education is a necessity for all because it is the starting block for every other human right. Unfortunately, education is not universally available. If a community is educated, those in that community could use their skills to create a solution to poverty in their own community, for example. This would spread like wildfire because once one group of children are educated, others will be inspired and/or the educated are able to help their community in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t have. The fact that so many children around the world are not getting an education is one of the main reasons I am a catalyst for good. In the future, I would love to be involved in this cause whether it is doing something hands-on abroad or from the United States. For now, the best I can do is to raise awareness of this global issue and encourage myself and others to be grateful for the education that we do have. I believe that one day this can change, and I would love to help in some way towards this cause because all deserve to be educated.

Sadie writes, "I am a Catalyst for Good because everyone deserves to be safe, happy, and healthy.