Humanity : Cede (Giving)

Give?

 Giving may refer to:

• Gift, the transfer of something without the expectation of receiving something in return.
• Generosity, the habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return.
• Charity (practice), the giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.

Giving is a form of gift giving  gift giving in which the giver makes a donation  to a charitable organization. The idea of giving something to one person by paying another was applied by Benamin Franklin  as a "trick [...] for doing a deal of good with a little money", which came to be known as "pay forward."

A.   Introduction

There’s no denying, life in the twenty-first century is demanding. There never seems to be enough :

   a.    time to do all the things that need to be done:

   b.    keep up with work or studies,

   c.    spend time with family,

   d.    earn enough money to pay the rent and buy necessities.

With so many challenges to cope with, you may ask yourself, 
“Why should I expend any effort in giving?” or 
“I’m already scrambling to deal with all the demands and pressures on me. 
How will I find time and resources to give more?” or 
“No one gives to me, so why should I give to others?”

B.   You

The biggest gift you will ever receive in life is the huge investment that your parents made in you. They are not the only ones , in the course of your life you have received from other people :  teachers, relatives and strangers. Schools and hospitals were built with the hard work and tax dollars of those who have given voluntarily or through law.

Your life revolves someone else. The peace that you enjoy due to the sacrifice of others. Countless people who have made an impact to your life : some negatively, some positively. Why not make a decision to have a positive impact on the lives of others, even if they are strangers?

Consider the following statistics:

• One out of every four people in the world is starving.
• As many as 1.5 billion people in the world do not have enough clean water.
• At least 20 million people are suffering the horror of war, imprisonment, and torture.
• Every few seconds a child dies from a preventable disease.
• One-seventh of the world’s population is illiterate.
• In the United States, the world’s richest country, 3 million people are homeless each year.

There are also needs within your own community. To face such needs , there are two options: you can

   a.    decide to help others and change their lives,

   b.    decide to do nothing and lose the benefits of giving.

But remember, when people come together to tackle a difficult situation, they receive far more than they can ever imagine.

C.   Why Give?

The majority of our wealth stems from the country we are born in. The stable economy of has enabled many of us to live a healthy and prosperous life.

Sharing this fortune with others will help reduce global poverty, and extreme poverty has been cut in half over the past 25 years thanks to ongoing international development efforts.

        Human are compassionate people, but we are not in the habit of donating on a monthly basis to a charity we support.

We spent $20 billion dollars eating out in 2011, and only $2.2 billion dollars supporting charities. 

So why do we give? Why ought we give?

•   All lives are worthy living humans.

    We believe all lives are worth saving, and because we can save them. We live comfortably while others go hungry. Every day and every night, not just after a natural disaster. Once I can provide for my family's needs, what better use of money is there than saving a life?

•  Daily acts of heroism

  We perform daily acts of heroism without even without knowing it. A scenario : You're walking through a park. Picture a small pond. A toddler falls into the water. Only you see the child predicament. You need to act quickly to save the toddler life.

   Do you have time to think about the consequences : wet shoes, clothes and others.

Of course not. You just jump right in. A life is worth more than a pair of shoes and others inconveniences. You save the child's life. Who wouldn't? You're an everyday hero.

Now: the scenario a child is in Ghana. Not drowning, but dying, having deadly measles. It's treatable but with poverty, the child is  dying a slow and painful death, not of measles, but of poverty.

        You can save the child's life. It will only cost you a little time in research and setting up a regular giving practice, and a tiny proportion of your income.

Do you hesitate? Do you save that life?

•  Changing the world is an incredible return on investment

    How much is your life worth? A million dollars? Ten million? In the US, various studies have come up with figures ranging from $2.2 million to $7.22 million to save an American life.

     Do you have life insurance? How much is it for?

      You can save many lives for much less than this.

$1	A dose of measles vaccine, for one of the hundreds of thousands of children still dying of measles each year	Buy a small chocolate
$10	A mosquito net to protect the bed of a child in Africa, where malaria still kills a million children a year	Buy a magazine and a coffee
$60	A simple operation to remove a cataract and restore sight	Watch movie in a luxury class cinema
$100 - $400	An operation to repair the fistula of a young girl in Africa	Buy a new pair of shoes or boots
$2,000	Save a person from poverty, for life	Take a week's holiday with the family
$50,000	Transform a small village from poverty	Buy a new car

         

One study estimates that saving an impoverished person from life-long poverty (compared to a single health-based intervention like those above), costs somewhere between $200 and $2000.

       So now you know: you have the power to save lives with a tiny portion of your income, an amount you probably won't notice missing. What do you choose to do?

·         We are affluent, even if we're average

The average Australian wage is around $65,000 per year, or $178 ($US160) per day. The World Bank sets the poverty line at $US1.25 per day (adjusted for its purchasing power in the places where the poor live). There are 1.4 billion people who live below this line. One billion of them live on less than $US1 per day.

There are also about a billion people—ordinary people, not royalty or celebrity—living in historically unprecedented levels of affluence. We are those people. 
   We :

 •   can air condition our houses

 •   can buy an incredible variety of fruit and vegetables

 •   can have medical and dental treatment when we need it

 •   live 20 to 30 years longer than our grandparents

 •   have reduced our infant mortality rates from 1 in 10 to 1 in 200 century

 •   spend an average of only 6% of our income on buying food.

 •   We give because most of what we have is social capital

      You earned that money and it's yours to decide how to spend it.

And now, just consider how much of it you'd have been able to accrue if you were born into poverty in an impoverished country, without the health, education, social security, law enforcement, regulation, roads, communication and other infrastructure that underpins industrialized nations.

·         We can't rely on government or corporations to do so

  Australia's government currently gives 0.34 percent of gross national income to foreign aid. The Rudd government committed to increase this to 0.5 percent by 2015-16, and the 2010 budget increased our contribution by $500 million to $4.3 billion.

   Although an improvement, it's still well below the minimum 0.7 percent target adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1970, to be reached by the mid-1970s. Only five countries currently meet this commitment—Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg, Denmark and The Netherlands—and Australia's goal of 0.5 percent in another five years still won't get us there.

   Governmental aid is often politicized, with aid being directed to parts of the world where the government has a vested interest, rather than to where it is most needed. Less than a quarter of Australia's 2007-2008 aid spending went to the world's least developed countries, whereas over a third went to countries classified as 'lower middle income'. In regional terms, over half went to our regional neighbors.

    Aid figures can also be manipulated to include tied spending that benefits the donor government's own economy.

·         We give for ourselves

For donors, there are many benefits of giving to others. The kinds of experiences and feelings most people chase all their lives are readily available to generous donors. The huge personal payback of transformative giving is there for the taking.

o   Happiness

Those who give are 68% less likely to have felt 'hopeless' and 34% less likely to say that they felt 'so sad that nothing could cheer them up.'

Warm inner glow Neurological research shows that when people donate, the brain's 'reward centers’ - the caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbnes and insulae - become active. There's good science behind the decision to give!

o   Connection

Many charities seek a relationship with their donors that enables you to give more than cash, to direct your spending to specific projects or to become connected with the recipients and outcomes of your donated funds and time.

o   Power

In what other area of your life do you have such a massive influence on the lives of people not personally known to you, and the wellbeing of their children for coming generations? When you give to a charity, you may specify the area of the charity's work in which you'd like the money spent. Significant donors can have a substantial impact on a particular area of interest.

o   Involvement

There are opportunities for private briefings when you give a substantial amount to a charity. Many charities hold events where you can meet the decision makers from charities and discuss their work.

·                                We give to make the world what we want it to be

Human have a profound influence on those around them. The consumption habits, values, choices are all observed by peers and in many instances copied.

Create a giving culture among your friends, family and colleagues by talking about why

If you think it's right to save a life, donate to the charity whose work you most support. And if you really want to make a difference, talk about it to people all the time.

D.   Benefits of giving

What are those benefits of giving? Here are some of the things you can gain by making giving a greater part of your life:

·         new relationships

·         a feeling of security

·         jobs

·         good health

·         a sense of empowerment, pride, and accomplishment

·         happiness

·         peace and love

·         a positive difference to others.

·         emotional, physical, and even financial benefits to you.

·         help you achieve your full potential.

·         more meaning, fulfillment, and happiness.

§  New Relationships

Psychologist’s research on babies knows that babies  (like all human beings) crave interaction with other humans. Babies who are not nurtured by their parents or other caregivers will shrink emotionally from lack of bonding.

This is also true of adults. If adults lack stimulating interaction with others, their souls will shrink. Through connecting with other human beings that man learn about the world, about yourself, and even about your destiny. After all, other people are a mirror in which you can see yourself. This interconnection enables you to reach your full potential and to strengthen your soul.

Just as your muscles weaken without physical exercise, so does your soul weaken without its special kinds of exercise. A great exercise for your soul is the practice of giving. As with physical exercise, the more you do it, the easier it is, and the stronger you will become.

§  Reduction Of Fears

Giving can also reduce your fears as giving promotes social connections, which provide you with greater security.

Do you live in fear and worrying syndrome

o   of economic disaster,

o   losing your good health,

o   fear that crime, war, or

o   terrorist attacks will disrupt the economy and your security?

These are legitimate concerns that many people share. We live in difficult and uncertain times, but are these fears real?

Research shows that people who watch a lot of news on television overestimate the threats to their well-being. Television has magnify and makes this world more dangerous place than it actually is. People have “cocoon” themselves staying in their homes with close family, and do not build bonds with their neighbors. Thus, they become more vulnerable.

Giving is a key part of this process because giving reduces self-centeredness. It can make you feel more connected to others, and this connection will reduce fear and isolation.

Have you ever heard of a job opportunity through a personal connection? Have you ever had neighbors help you out during a difficult situation? Has a friend ever cared for your child when you were exhausted?

These are just a few of the benefits that occur when you are connected with other people. The list is endless.

§  Good Health

Academic research demonstrates that giving to others, benefits people physically and emotionally. In a May 1988 issue of the American Health magazine described a study in Michigan that showed that regular volunteer work increases life expectancy. The study found that men who did no volunteer work were two and a half times more likely to die during the study than men who volunteered at least once a week.

Giving, in the form of volunteer work:

·         enhances your immune system,

·         lowers cholesterol levels,

·         strengthens your heart,

·         decreases the incidence of chest pains, and

·         generally reduces stress.

The world can be a different and better place if, while you are here, you give of yourself.

§  Living To Your Potential

Most people use only a tiny portion of their potential, and many never find their true gift or calling in life. They never find a worthwhile cause to support, a cause that really means something to them and makes a difference in their lives.

But when you give to others or give of yourself to meaningful causes, things change. You expect more of yourself. You discover new feelings of self-worth. Indeed, you begin to tap into your true gifts and talents. And when you do that, you can achieve your full potential as you help yourself and others.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “To find yourself, lose yourself in the service of others.” By losing himself in his voluntary work during that trip, he found himself and got closer to achieving his full potential. 

E.    Principles of Giving

The following six principles of giving, teach us how to give:

1. Give Secretly

Keeps us from giving for the praise of others.  Often, we are tempted to give because of how it will make other people think of us.  We want people to see us as generous, compassionate, and charitable.  In this scenario, we give not for the benefit of those receiving our contribution, but for our own benefit–self-centered & selfish giving, if you will.  It’s counter-productive.  Giving in secret prevents this backwards motivation..

2. Give Generously

It is to be an individual matter that is settled in the privacy of one's own heart. "How much?" is a question that each person must answer for ourself. And it is never to be determined by how much "the Joneses" are contributing.

Giving requires resolving. The text reads what he has decided (literally, "as each has purposed").  It is to be a private, not a public, decision. It is to be decided in the heart.

3. Give Purposely

We to focus own mind and heart (inner feeling) to the purposed of giving. This entails planning ahead or deliberately thinking in advance even before the act of giving is carried out. Do not forget that the act needs free willingness and spontaneous giving which are leads from a thankful heart. People gave their time, talents, and finances, not out of a sense of duty or in anticipation of a promised returns, but out of a grateful life.

4. Give Cheerfully

The joy of giving  guards the giver in being robbed of the spirit of purposed of giving (temptations). A cheerful attitude is what is needed to achieve the goal of the giver. Anything less, too much enthusiasm, forced or last-minute decisions, will dampens the spirit of cheerfulness in giving. A planned timeframe which is reasonable and purposeful can  cause us to cultivate a spirit of gladness in our giving.

Each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion

5. Give Sacrificially

There is a great difference between the contribution of the rich and the commitment to of this poor. The former cost them nothing in that, it is of no great consequence to give what they didn’t need to exist and depend on for.

The latter had to survive ultimately taking care of their every need. Each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion

6.     Give Proportionately

Financial prosperity in our lives ethically, it is not a license to spend it as we choose. It is not our ticket to a self-indulgent, luxury, lax lifestyle that curbs our spending habits. Prosperity in one’s life means a greater opportunity for us to engage in the attribute of giving. The prosperity endowed has enriches our lives, we need to take inventory of the blessing and reevaluate the portion we ought to return to mankind to further the existence of mankind in the world.

Giving is a freewill offering practiced but also exhorts us to give secretly, generously, purposefully, cheerfully, sacrificially, and proportionately on a regular basis with a thankful heart.

F.    Types of Giving

Below and in the menu for giving opportunities.

Traditional Gifts

·         Cash or Check

A gift of cash or a personal check is by far the most popular way.

·         Stock, Bonds, Real Estate or Life Insurance

Gifts made in the form of appreciated stock, bonds, real estate or life insurance may carry tax benefits.

Planned Giving

·         Bequests:

Bequests, large and small, continue to provide substantial money support for programs.

·         Annuities or Trusts:

An annuity or trust can help Piedmont while allowing you to achieve your goals. One or more of these vehicles might allow you to make a charitable gift and receive life income for yourself, a loved one, or provide for your family while minimizing your taxes.

Pledge

A pledge may be made for any of the l projects. Most pledges are paid over a period of time. Pledge reminders are generally sent at the end of each calendar year, however, individual schedules may be set up. In general, unpaid pledge gifts are not eligible for matching funds.

  G. Myths About Aid

Myth 1. ‘We already spend a vast amount on foreign aid’

The full picture:

The developed world spends is negligible compared with its wealth. In 2012, governments of developed countries spent $128 billion on foreign aid, and private aid from citizens added $56 billion. BUT:

·   The total aid was only 0.4% of the combined national income of those countries, or four dollars out of every thousand.

·        The total aid was only $152 per person living in developed countries.

·       There are 5.84 billion people in developing countries, which mean that the total aid was only $33 per recipient.

The Iraq War of 2003 cost more than the amount given in foreign aid over the past 50 years!:

People are often under the impression that a lot more is spent on foreign aid than it actually is. US citizens consistently estimate that around 25% of the Federal Budget is spent on aid, and say that they believe that the figure should be around 10%. In fact the US spends less than 1% of the Federal Budget on foreign aid.

Myth 2. ‘The money we have spent has had little or no effect’

The full picture:

Global poverty is a massive problem, and the aid is not sufficient. However, as seen above, the amount given in aid is less than often assumed.

Despite this, a lot has been achieved in the developing world:

·         Smallpox was eradicated worldwide by 1980 following a World Health Organization initiative launched in 1959. A highly contagious disease, it had been particularly devastating in South Asia, where it killed up to half of those affected and left survivors maimed.

·         Annual worldwide deaths from malaria were reduced by over 80% between 1930 and 2010, from 3.8 to 0.7 million.

·         Using oral rehydration therapy, annual worldwide deaths from cholera and other diarrheal illnesses were reduced by 65% between 1980 and 2001, from 4.6 to 1.6 million.

Despite spending relatively little, we have made great strides forward in terms of health. Just think what we could achieve if we gave more, and we gave to the most effective programs!

Myth 3. ‘The problem is so large, my giving can make no real difference’

The full picture:

·         In fact, you could make more of a difference than you might think. For example, if the average US citizen gave 10% of his or her income to the [Against Malaria Foundation], then each year it could distribute 700 mosquito nets, preventing 190 cases of malaria and 2.2 deaths. This would amount to saving 90 lives over the course of his or her life – hardly “no real difference”!

·         You may not be able to end poverty on your own, but all great movements are made up of individual actions. If we all donated a percentage of our income to the most effective charities, together we could actually end extreme poverty in this lifetime.

Myth 4. ‘Charity begins at home: we should solve our own problems first’

The full picture:

·         There are also many people in very difficult circumstances in developed countries, who are certainly no less deserving than the development world. But the question is what can be achieved with your donation?

·         In the developed world, we already spend enough money on health, sanitation and education to ensure that, for example, easily preventable or treatable diseases are prevented and treated. Overwhelmingly, the problems we are left with are ones which would be relatively expensive to solve. For that reason, the UK’s National Health Service considers it cost-effective to spend up to £20,000 (over $30,000) for a single year of healthy life saved.

By contrast, because of poverty many developing countries are still plagued by diseases which would cost the developed world comparatively small sums to control. For example [Against Malaria Foundation] distributes mosquito nets at a cost of only $2,300 per life saved.

For a direct comparison, helping people suffering from blindness:

·         In a developed country this would usually involve paying to train a guide dog and its new owner, which costs around $40,000.

·   In the developing world there are millions of people suffering from trachoma-induced blindness which could be completely cured by a safe eye operation, costing only about $20.

·       For the same amount of money as training one guide dog, we could instead completely cure over 2,000 people of blindness.

Myth 5. ‘Aid is useless due to corruption in the governments who receive it’

The full picture:

·         No-one denies that corruption in developing countries can sometimes lead to aid money or resources going missing. But the answer is not giving less, but giving smarter.

·         One way of reducing the danger of corruption is to donate to programs which do not deal in valuable goods which officials could divert. Another is to give to charities with strict distribution controls and robust impact assessments, ensuring that their work is actually making a difference rather than simply lining a few pockets. For example [Against Malaria Foundation] is particularly careful to avoid and discourage corruption while carrying out its distributions.

Myth 6. ‘Aid just makes developing countries dependent on handouts’

The full picture:

It is true that, for example, donating large quantities of food can make it unprofitable to farm locally. However, many types of intervention simply do not cause this sort of problem and have overwhelmingly positive effects. For example:

·     Programs which teach skills can help poor people to do things like grow their own food or learn the skills necessary to earn a decent living. As the saying goes, “teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life”.

·  The distribution of drugs to fight neglected tropical diseases not only improves health, but leads to greater levels of education and wealth. [Schistosomiasis Control Initiative] and [Deworm the World] set up these programs to be taken over by national health departments in a sustainable way, leading to decreased dependence on aid over time.
[Project Healthy Children] helps governments to fortify staple foods with micronutrients. Once the standards and processes are set up, there is no need for any continued ‘handouts’ .

This is an issue which we take into account is assessing charities, to ensure that the ones we recommend improve lives in a sustainable and non-exploitative way.

Myth 7. ‘Because it leads to overpopulation, aid only increases the problems’

The full picture:

Why do the countries in the developed world have much lower birth rates than the developing world? There are a number of reasons:

·      Lower infant death rates mean families don’t need to have as many children in order to guarantee that some will survive.

·     At the same time improvements in quality of life make it less necessary to have many children working to support their families.

·       Greater access to contraception gives families more control over fertility.

Therefore by reducing infant death rates, improving quality of life and increasing access to contraception, aid can help to bring this kind of ‘demographic transition’ in the developed world as well, reducing the birth rate while tackling extreme poverty at the same time.

There are also many ways in which aid can greatly improve the quality of people’s lives in poverty stricken areas without increasing the birth rate. For example, it can cure people of blindness or neglected tropical diseases, which cause significant hardship but have only a small effect on mortality.

Even better, regular treatments through deworming campaigns have been shown to decrease school absenteeism and increase adulthood earnings, which are the sorts of improvements which tend to lead to decreasing fertility rates.

       Myth 8. ‘We don't need charity; we need political action’

The full picture:

There are many ways in which political action could lead to great improvements for those living in developing countries, from changing the aid policies of powerful countries such as the United States to reforming the way in which world trade is conducted.

However lasting economic change is notoriously difficult to bring about, not least because there are vested interests prepared to spend a lot of money to avoid change. Where money is spent on both sides of a political battle, the overall good done is usually nil.

There is more hope for organizations which push for political change in the developing world. [Project Healthy Children] places advisors within recipient governments to offer encouragement and technical assistance to push forward mandatory standards for food fortification with micronutrients. Similarly [Deworm the World] provides the expertise to enable governments to put into place regular school-based deworming programs.

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Excerpt and extract taken with many thanks from :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giving

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_giving

http://www.thepowerofgiving.org/

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/01/07/5-reasons-why-receiving-is-harder-than-giving/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psysociety/2013/11/28/thanksgiving-2013/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/charity/duty_1.shtml

http://gickysoriano.hubpages.com/hub/Understanding-Six-Principles-of-Giving

https://www.piedmont.edu/pc/index.php/make-a-gift/types-of-giving

http://www.givingwhatwecan.org/why-give/myths-about-aid

http://givingonepercent.org.au/index.php/why-give/we-give-for-australia