Death Becomes Us
I’m approaching my new blog like it’s a virtual Hyde Park Corner and I’ve never lacked soap boxes to climb upon. I see it as a very large classroom (certainly a venue I’m familiar with), where I throw out ideas and have people react. So, with that, we introduce Nonprofit University of The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University.
University of Colorado Professor Thomas Pyszcynski and colleagues recently tested people’s attitudes towards charitable organization as influenced by their surroundings. They stopped people on the streets of Boulder to ask their opinions about charitable organizations. In return for taking the survey, a small donation would be made to a charity of the person’s choice.
Some people were stopped directly in front of a clearly marked funeral home, while others were stopped three blocks away. Can you guess which group was more positively inclined towards charities? Any surprise that it was the group staring death in the face? Apparently reminders of our own mortality cause us to want to help others more than if we aren’t being so reminded.
Let’s couple this idea with the theory of “helper’s high,” the growing body of research that documents both the physiological and psychological benefits of giving money and helping others. Studies show that giving time or dollars increases mood-enhancing chemicals in our bodies, allows for faster recovery, longer lives and a reduction in depression.
Put a group of professional fundraisers in a room and ask them about the return on those free note cards and mailing labels that frequently come with requests for your charitable dollars and you will get an array of different opinions. Ask volunteer managers about the value of that “thank you luncheon” and you’re also likely to get a diversity of responses. Has this practice of giving us something more than a simple thank you for our gifts of time and dollars created a culture that has lost the meaning of doing good simply to help others; of doing good simply because we know that as long as we are able it is the “right” thing to do?
Those of us who work for charitable organizations don’t do it because we know we are going to die, anymore than those who work for for-profit organizations think they will live forever. So why do you do what you do?
What an interesting post. It reminds me of a professor I had who said all charitable actions are for selfish purposes, and then found a way to twist any example we gave to fit his theory. He was obviously a very cheery man.
I’d like to think that people do good for the sake of doing good, and I’d be interested to see what other people think. I will certainly be returning to this blog. Thank you for the interesting post.
When colleges started offering undergraduate courses of study in non-profit management, I’ll admit that it first struck me as curious. How can someone really know that’s where they’re headed for a career, I thought. Reality is, most people I know in the business of running non-profits came there by way of somewhere else. In many ways, the job had found them, not the other way around. I think most of us feel a sense of call to the vocation of working in a nonprofit. I certainly see that in many, many of my co-workers, whether they would call themselves either religious or even spiritual. They all want to serve others in some way, and they want to know that their efforts are making an impact on the world, even in a small way.
Let me have the honor of being the first commenter!
Laura,
Good luck with this. Could be kind of like a virtual “Clear Circle”
As frustrating as the adm part of ED can be, I do it…cliche….because I like the way it feels to know you are helping those that can not help themselves
Lynne Samson
National Transplant and Catastrophic Injury Program
Hi Laura–welcome to the blogosphere! I live just down the road from LaSalle–actually worked there in the late 80’s. Usually with blogging our “neighbors” are virtual. It’s nice to have one that’s physical, too.
Welcome!
I have ‘done it’ with very large and very small organizations ranging from global disaster response to post secondary education and find this small organization allows so many opportunities for service, reflective development and hope.
While I don’t often consider my mortality, I do look to the future. a preferred future, as the impetus for dragging my middle-aged body into work everyday.
Bob McInnis
BB4CK
Laura,
I will have keep an eye on this blog – and I have resisted blogs so far (who has the time??).
It has not escaped my notice that my work closely resembles what I do in my free time. I help people I know, or just come into contact with. I volunteer in my community. I support my family….etc, etc. And getting a free lunch is defintely toward the bottom of MY list of gratifications. But, neither am I driven by a need to fix everything.
I do this because it is challenging, I am always learning and I believe the world is a slightly better place for my existence. So maybe the funeral home image was a pretty powerful one in this context – “What will MY legacy be?”.
In wealthy nations, we become insulated from the global reality. The relative opulence in which the vast majority of Americans live (professionally built housing, plenty of food, clean water, temperature controlled environments, etc.) leads us to react dramatically to the individual case that confronts us – a child with cancer, a school shooting – while we can ignore mass suffering, deprivation and injustice – homeless people in our community and genocide in Darfur. I find it takes an effort to remind myself that a hot shower is a luxury that in another time or place I might never have experienced. I am often shocked at how many people can go through their lives and not know that there are hungry children in their community and “pillars” of the community can be sexual predators.
But, ironically, the major barrier to taking action that I hear people express is their own powerlessness. I suspect part of it is that we tend to see anything short of 100% success as failure. Making that one little dent doesn’t appear to count. I also see a lack of sense of community, we are all in this alone. What will my $5 do?
I see these attitudes – powerlessness and isolation – as 2 of the major challenges we face in the non-profit world.
I will look for other’s perceptions!
Debbie Duncan
Center for Non-Profits (NJ)
Hi Laura,
Thanks for starting the “blog” and sharing your words of wisdom that until now…could only be heard in one of your stimulating classes or workshops.
I do what I do because it empowers me to motivate others (foundations, corporations, individuals) to commit their plentiful resources to good causes. As an individual, my impact, while valuable, is limited. By mobilizing other entities to give, I feel I’m making a collective difference. I’m helping those who have the resources learn about the important work being done by the nonprofit community, and how their support can help further that work. My job is one of education, public awareness building, and persuasion….for a good cause. That get’s me out of bed in the morning!
Looking forward to more interesting discussions to come.
Tina Floyd
Development Consultant
24 hour access. When will you sleep?
All the best.
I too, as another respondant, have avoided blogs, but this one intrigues me…especially your question…I work for a non-profit because I grew up in a family that valued service to community and I am the type of person who needs to be constantly challenged. The non-profit I work for allows me to serve the community while my job there NEVER allows me to get bored or be idle.
While I do not directly service our clients, I (as HR Director) service those who provide the programs and services for our clients. And every day is different!
CLEAR Circles, referred to above, are confidential peer learning circles of nonprofit executive directors. They meet monthly to jointly problem solve and support each other. You can find out about them on The Nonprofit Center’s website at
http://www.lasallenonprofitcenter.org/leadership/clear.php
That’s an interesting thing to learn and to think about.
Hi Laura–
Great blog! As for a response to you question, I do what I do for a number of reasons, some of which I’m more proud of than others. At a recent community event in Chicago, an local elder approached the mic and shared that in his day, no one got paid to be a part of the Civil Rights Movement.
I wonder how much of my work I’d continue doing if there was no prospect of compensation.
Do Gifts From Charities Influence Your Donations?…
Laura Otten is director of The Nonprofit Center at La Salle University. She has created a new blog that I will be paying attention to called Nonprofit University. She will be sharing her thoughts and questions about the business side…
Hi Laura,
I look forward to reading your blog as it progresses. Great job. You can read my response at http://www.everydaygivingblog.com/2008/01/nonprofit-unive.html
I do what I do so that hundreds of others can do what they do! I host a website and list that helps over 2,000 animal rescues and humane societies share ideas that are working in fundraising. I could work with just one local humane society, but instead, my fundraising work and research benefits 2,000 groups to make a difference in the lives of thousands of animals. That’s a pretty good return on investment.
Perhaps that professor previously mentioned would state that I have a selfish motive of being recognized in some way… Like most volunteer positions, there isn’t much recognition in what I do. But, I’m still making a difference for thousands of groups and, by extension, tens of thousands of animals who will be spayed/ neutered and adopted. Helping use your gifts to the best of your ability is what we should all be doing.
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10
~Danielle Hamilton
http://www.humanefundraising.com
I really appreciated Danielle’s comments about using your gifts. When I was worked in development I would tell explain that it wasn’t so much that I liked asking people for money, it was that I found a mission I was committed to and using my talents to raise money was a way to support that mission. I used that approach as a way to coax reluctant board members into helping fundraise as well.
I am looking forward to visiting often!
To answer your question, I often say that I am not going to cure cancer, but by serving the nonprofit sector I can make a small difference everyday!
Laura,
For me, giving is about being human, about feeling gratitude for my place in the world and for the gifts and opportunities I have in abundance. It’s acting on the human impulse to share what I have and on the rage I feel about the scarcity that others live in. Beyond this, though, is the brutal understanding that much of my access and abundance is connected to — really a product of — others’ lack of access. My wanting to play Robin Hood is really about understanding that I stand in such wealth because I am a beneficiary of a system that steals from the poor to give to the rich.
I’m in the middle of reading an amazing Pulitzer Prize winning book by Tracy Kidder called ‘Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man who Would Cure the World.” Here’s a quote from Dr. Farmer on p. 40, speaking of white liberals (WL’s) “I love WL’s…they’re on our side…But WL’s think all the world’s problems can be fixed without any cost to themselves. We don’t believe that. There’s a lot to be said for sacrifice, remorse, even pity. It’s what separates us from roaches.”
I don’t need to stand in front of a funeral home to see the cost in our humanity we pay everyday when we benefit from atrocities world wide.
I always say that “a truly righteous man/woman is completely selfish…in that everything he/she does means something better for themselves…especially those done for others”
I’ve never been on a blog before. I’m going to keep an eye on this one. Being a CEO is something I’ve NEVER wanted to become….but here I am. (In my 4th year) I’m working on doing a Beef & Soda (can’t do beer-we’re an addictions treatment & prevention agency.) This will be a first for our agency. Any tips??? Our date is May 15, I’ve got a great hall donated, but nothing else at the moment. HELP???? Thanks! Joni
Motivations are varied and not really consistent, especially as we look at age differences.
Generally, what attracts folks to work in the non-profit sector reflect one’s upbringing, life experiences, and personal motivations . . . much like the impact that donors consider in the organizations they support (or not).
I like to think that most of us in the non-profit world truly intend to make a difference in this world . . . and to leave a legacy of something permanent and meaningful.
I currently volunteer at non-profits in areas I can, whether that be volunteer time or grant writing. It is for slightly selfish reasons- I want to make my mark in the world. I don’t want to die and not have assisted in making the world alittle bit better for our children’s children. When I truly believe in the mission, I dedicated my whole being to it. I help others all of the time- it’s built into me. I would love to take it to a larger scale.
I look forward to learning & associating with everyone on here. Thank you!!!
Justice is one of the reasons I’m in my vocation. It hurts to see others marginalized and denied the basic dignity that’s the gift of being human.
I’ve never thought of charitable giving and volunteering as something related to thoughts about one’s own mortality. Did the people in the study choose charities to benefit that were human-related more than animal-related when they were in front of a funeral home?
But then again, I guess my job in nonprofit development and why I “do what I do” is related to thoughts of my own mortality. Since I changed from a music major to PR in college, I wanted to work for the arts and even got a master’s in arts administration. So I have almost always known I wanted to work in nonprofit (though I consider development something I “fell” into and I haven’t looked back!). About a year into my first job, I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 23, and after continuing to work in the arts (and not progressing in my career the way I wanted), I now work for a hospital in development. I see the people I am helping every single day I walk to the cafeteria, or go past them on my way home to sleep in my own bed, things that many of them can’t do.
One day I hope to be able to help cure cancer, but in the mean time I’m happy making a living by helping people.