Doing good

When I started this blog back in the spring, one idea I wanted to get to eventually was philanthropy. You know, doing good with the resources one is gifted with.

I wanted to write just now that philanthropy is giving from one’s abundance. And while that is probably true for most of us, really meaningful giving can come from one’s meagerness, as well. Perhaps you remember the Bible story of the poor woman who put her last coins in the synagogue’s alms box. Her deeply felt gift to her community’s other poor was celebrated in the parable much more than the rich man who gave a big gift, but not big enough keep him from knowing where his next meal would come from.

I do have trouble with this Bible story, just like I squirm when I hear it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. How much giving is enough? How much stuff am I allowed to have? Such is a quandary. We talk about such things at our house.

The lead of this entry is graced with next year’s Waffle Shop poster, the 81st such event sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church here in Dayton, Ohio. I am proud to say that with proceeds from last month’s 80th Waffle Shop, we should be able to award at least $9,000 in Outreach Grants. The books aren’t closed yet, so we don’t know exactly how much there will be, but 9 grand should be close.

And it is for that reason why I feel so good about Waffle Shop: Dozens of regular folk spend lots of hours creating stuff to sell, setting up for 1600 guests in four days, cooking for most of them, and serving all with a hefty dose of hospitality. Money is one kind of philanthropy. Time and talent is another. Waffle Shop is a beautiful convergence of all three.

I suppose with some giving, one expects something in return. Non-tax deductible political contributions come to mind. The bigger the gift, the more influence one has over legislation.

For most of us, though, I hope, we give because we want to share the wealth. Cindy Lou and I have been working on putting all our earthly possessions in a joint trust since her dad passed one year ago. The idea is that less assets in the estate will be lost to court proceedings if it is protected in trust. One thing we have to do yet is determine how those assets will be divided after we both die.

I suppose the first logical destination for the wealth we can’t take with us is to give it to my two girls and their families. Such will happen, but they won’t get it all. And here is where this entry circles back to philanthropy.

I’d like to see most of my money go to places I knew and loved in this life: Places doing good work for humanity. Aullwood Audubon Center & Farm. Christ Church. The Hog Island Audubon Center. Episcopal Relief and Development. Habitat for Humanity. Those kind of folk.

And not that you have to wait until the end of days to be a philanthropist. I imagine you’ve gotten a handful of ask letters this giving season for organizations looking for year-end contributions.

Who can you help? How? How much do peace, justice, and generosity energize you? What’s the right thing to do?

Today’s elder idea: We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.

Mother Teresa