Yep. All of it. Dollars up, donors down. I’m heartsick that greed and corruption continues to erode the fabric of community. At the same time, I’m hopeful that the people are waking up to see how much we (the 99%) are interdependent and our systems require an overhaul. The philanthropic sector would do well to lead this effort - and may be a good place to start. The evolution of mutual aid is a promising start.
And another thing: giving may be up, but that’s not the story. Headlines like these, from Giving USA, send the message to people not immersed in philanthropy that everything is “fine” - but they are not. Just like the S&P & the DOW continues to climb, people are not connecting the reality to the carefully curated headlines.
YES, Angela! Exactly. I do think people are waking up to our interdependence and need for community, as things continue to get worse. We DO need and depend on each other (that's simply the reality of who we are), and a worldview that has been denying that reality has been winning the day for far too long. Now is the time to change it.
This piece landed hard for me, and Angela's follow-up did too. One thing I keep coming back to as an accountant: the way we've defined "philanthropy" is definitionally capitalist. It has to move through a 501(c)(3), or a (c)(6), or a donor-advised fund, or it doesn't show up in the Giving USA data at all.Which means the "donors down" number is measuring a category we drew too narrowly to see the actual life underneath it. I've watched my community pool money for top surgery, for bail, for someone's rent, for mutual aid drives — real dollars, real redistribution, no 990. None of that gets counted. And it might genuinely be the fastest-growing form of philanthropy in America; we just don't have a mechanism designed to see it. Excited to follow Philanthropy Of The People!
Also, YES! I agree with you that the way people ACTUALLY care for each other, in real life (the true meaning of "philanthropy") is the fastest-growing form of philanthropy in America. SO many people use these methods, for SO many different reasons that have nothing to do with a 501c3.
I love your phrase: "real dollars, real distribution, no 990." YES. Amen. Why aren't we counting this?? (PS: it's impossible to. But I guess that's the point? Not everything needs to be "legit" by the narrow definitions of a professionalized field that thrives on measurement and control...)
The nonprofit sector in the US continues to grow because it depends on an economic model that sustains unequal economic growth and tax evasion (or the slow decline of the government’s wealth redistribution mandate).
Neoliberalism and growing inequality (which go hand in hand) actually feed off of the nonprofit/philanthropic sector, using it as an alternative to social responsibility and redistribution.
It’s not just that the nonprofit sector is too small to replace wealth redistribution via taxes and public services, it’s also that morally, corporations and wealthy people, who’ve made money thanks to public infrastructure, underpaid labor, and government provisions, shouldn’t get to decide where, how much, and when their wealth is going back to society.
YES, @Paola R. Tiel, ALL of this! Thank you for providing your perspective, which fleshes out what I’m saying all the more.
We only think of taxes as a bad thing if we’re so steeped in an individualistic mindset (as most Americans are) that we feel like we're “losing” something through taxes, which is SO off-base…
…especially when it’s quite the contrary!
We are GAINING all the public infrastructure and supports that we NEED to live as a collective society.
And those who have earned the most wealth through this society could be GLAD to pay back into it, as a natural flow of resources — and to help their fellow citizens grow their own wealth too. Can you even imagine?!
Yep. All of it. Dollars up, donors down. I’m heartsick that greed and corruption continues to erode the fabric of community. At the same time, I’m hopeful that the people are waking up to see how much we (the 99%) are interdependent and our systems require an overhaul. The philanthropic sector would do well to lead this effort - and may be a good place to start. The evolution of mutual aid is a promising start.
And another thing: giving may be up, but that’s not the story. Headlines like these, from Giving USA, send the message to people not immersed in philanthropy that everything is “fine” - but they are not. Just like the S&P & the DOW continues to climb, people are not connecting the reality to the carefully curated headlines.
YES, Angela! Exactly. I do think people are waking up to our interdependence and need for community, as things continue to get worse. We DO need and depend on each other (that's simply the reality of who we are), and a worldview that has been denying that reality has been winning the day for far too long. Now is the time to change it.
This piece landed hard for me, and Angela's follow-up did too. One thing I keep coming back to as an accountant: the way we've defined "philanthropy" is definitionally capitalist. It has to move through a 501(c)(3), or a (c)(6), or a donor-advised fund, or it doesn't show up in the Giving USA data at all.Which means the "donors down" number is measuring a category we drew too narrowly to see the actual life underneath it. I've watched my community pool money for top surgery, for bail, for someone's rent, for mutual aid drives — real dollars, real redistribution, no 990. None of that gets counted. And it might genuinely be the fastest-growing form of philanthropy in America; we just don't have a mechanism designed to see it. Excited to follow Philanthropy Of The People!
Yessssss. YES! Agree with you on all of this.
The way we've defined "philanthropy" IS capitalist. 100%. And as I've written, foundations (what many/most people think of when they use that word) expressly exist to fuel capitalism. Check out that article here: https://www.fortheloveofhumanity.community/p/foundations-exist-to-fuel-capitalism?r=37cg0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Also, YES! I agree with you that the way people ACTUALLY care for each other, in real life (the true meaning of "philanthropy") is the fastest-growing form of philanthropy in America. SO many people use these methods, for SO many different reasons that have nothing to do with a 501c3.
I love your phrase: "real dollars, real distribution, no 990." YES. Amen. Why aren't we counting this?? (PS: it's impossible to. But I guess that's the point? Not everything needs to be "legit" by the narrow definitions of a professionalized field that thrives on measurement and control...)
Haha thanks for the enthusiasm! And I’ll check out the article you linked this week! :)
@Cecelia Caspram you’re always right on point.
The nonprofit sector in the US continues to grow because it depends on an economic model that sustains unequal economic growth and tax evasion (or the slow decline of the government’s wealth redistribution mandate).
Neoliberalism and growing inequality (which go hand in hand) actually feed off of the nonprofit/philanthropic sector, using it as an alternative to social responsibility and redistribution.
It’s not just that the nonprofit sector is too small to replace wealth redistribution via taxes and public services, it’s also that morally, corporations and wealthy people, who’ve made money thanks to public infrastructure, underpaid labor, and government provisions, shouldn’t get to decide where, how much, and when their wealth is going back to society.
YES, @Paola R. Tiel, ALL of this! Thank you for providing your perspective, which fleshes out what I’m saying all the more.
We only think of taxes as a bad thing if we’re so steeped in an individualistic mindset (as most Americans are) that we feel like we're “losing” something through taxes, which is SO off-base…
…especially when it’s quite the contrary!
We are GAINING all the public infrastructure and supports that we NEED to live as a collective society.
And those who have earned the most wealth through this society could be GLAD to pay back into it, as a natural flow of resources — and to help their fellow citizens grow their own wealth too. Can you even imagine?!