THe
HeArT OF
GIVING
why philanthropy and Giving Back Are A Must!
As entrepreneurs and business owners many of us may
not have a million dollars in the bank, and may sometimes
struggle to keep our business afloat. Some of us may indeed have thriving business with money in the bank and
planning to expand and/or start a new endeavor. whatever
your business finances tend to be the question is are you
giving back to thecommunity? what is your philanthropic practice? How are you leveraging your donations and
contributions? Is it all going to one place such as church
or a religious organization? Or are you dividing it amongst
other organizations that help the entire community as a
whole?
Redefining the idea of philanthropy:
we all have given many hours of our time and donations
to many individuals and organizations. However, most
of us have defined this more as an individual or personal
obligation of good will. You give of yourself through
volunteerism and donations, but we don’t consider these
contributions as acts of philanthropy. Often times we consider philanthropist as people that have wealth and can
give large sums of money to nonprofit organizations and/
or causes that they are passionate about. we think of individuals such as Oprah winfrey, warren Buffet, Bill Gates
and other famous or wealthy individuals who have made
a name for themselves through their work, fame and
charitable giving practices. But how often do we consider Mother Peterson, who volunteers everyday down at
the homeless shelter, Brother Marcus who mentors at risk
youth 3 days a week at the recreation Center, Mrs. Sheila
who advocates for students and parents in the education
system, or even the mom and pop small restaurant that
provides free dinners on Fridays to the families in his
community. Aren’t they philanthropist, aren’t they giving
back to their community?
According to the webster’s dictionary philanthropy is
defined as the practice of giving money and time to help
make life better for other people. By this simple definition,
we all are philanthropist in one way or another, if you are
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