& Spotlights the Current Trend of Everyday Givers Following the Example
America’s new era of philanthropy expanded markedly today with another dozen of the country’s wealthiest families committing to give the majority of their wealth to charity as part of the Giving Pledge, launched by legendary philanthropists Warren Buffett and Bill & Melinda Gates. But the story is much broader than these billion dollar commitments, according to Jason Franklin, NYU adjunct professor of philanthropy and CEO of NYC-based Bolder Giving.
“It’s inspiring to see the continued trend of outrageous generosity that these 12 new signers of the Giving Pledge represent,” said Franklin. Additionally, he observes that this very visible approach to philanthropy is having a widespread effect by inspiring “a new conversation for all of us, regardless of our level of wealth, to ask what we can do for the causes and communities we care about.”
Franklin, author of the upcoming book Outrageous Generosity (Sutton Hart 2012), further notes “As we face a moment of increasing wealth inequality in the United States, with growing conversations about tax reform and the continued 99% – 1% debate, the success of the Giving Pledge, Bolder Giving, and other efforts spotlight another important question: What responsibility do we each have personally as we steward our financial resources, whether thousands or billions, for the benefit of ourselves, our families, our community and our world?”
It is these conversations, inspired by the Giving Pledge and other extraordinary charitable initiatives, which drive the remarkable giving levels that Franklin’s Bolder Giving spotlights. “We celebrate the thousands of everyday philanthropists who give at extraordinary levels of their income and wealth after hardwiring the concept of giving and social impact into the way they think about money.” Over 125 everyday people, whose stories helped inspire the Giving Pledge itself, have shared their own stories publicly on Bolder Giving’s website. These include:
* Tom Hsieh, a computer programmer who, guided by his faith, gives the majority of salary every year to combat poverty in Los Angeles while he and his family stay committed to keep their personal spending at or below the U.S. median income.
* Nyla Rogers, who turned the grief of her mother’s untimely death into an opportunity to impact thousands of lives in Sub-Saharan Africa by giving away her inheritance to create Mama Hope.
* Mike Hannigan, who founded the office supply company Give Something Back which has donated more than 75% of its after-tax profits since Mike founded it in 1991.
As with the diversity of givers featured on Bolder Giving, Franklin hopes that the diversity of the new signers to the Giving Pledge will inspire an even broader giving population and the momentum of this new conversation about giving big.
To connect with Bolder Giving’s Jason Franklin for Giving Pledge commentary: Maggie 360.521.0437
Bolder Giving is a NYC-based nonprofit dedicated to inspiring people to support important causes, issues, and communities by pledging a substantial portion of their income or assets to charity. The group guides people to opportunities to achieve the highest possible social impact from their generosity. Bolder Giving’s theme of Give More (significantly increasing your giving from income or assets), Risk More (giving more collaboratively, effectively & strategically), and Inspire More (spotlighting stories of notable giving and sparking conversations about giving) serves socially conscious people across the economic spectrum. To learn more: www.boldergiving.org
