Don’t Scrooge Charities and Businesses
We’ve all heard the phrase, “give the gift of giving.” But in this economy, should we really give to charities instead of product manufacturers? I bet it’s a question on a lot of people’s minds.
Our spending power stimulates the economy and provides jobs. When the economy is in recession, as it now is, businesses especially need our purchasing power.
But what about charities during these times? They too need our donations, and this is the time of year when we give the most: holiday season. Hence we confront the dilemma of whom to give to when we’re on tighter family and personal budgets.
Nonprofits are bracing for a drop in giving, according to the Associated Press, even though giving levels have remained about the same. Retailers are also worried about consumers giving them less, despite the better-than-expected sales figures for Black Friday.
So it seems, just like the federal government, while money is tight — in a deficit even — people find it to spend. And that’s how it should continue. It shouldn’t be a matter of giving to one and not spending with the other. Now is when we can dig deep and do both. Otherwise, we might as well forget about the holiday spirit. We’ll turn into a nation of Scrooges.
So much of what we hear about today is handed to us in number terms: stock market gains and losses, bailout amounts, foreclosures, unemployment figures. We can, quite easily, get caught up in the digits and forget that people are affected by those sums. But now is the time to put meaning to the money we have to spend or give.
For example, Global Giving is touting a new gift card for the holidays: “Instead of a pair of socks or tie, for as little as $10, the Global Giving Gift Card allows donors to give the gift of education to girls in India, the gift of health to mothers in Afghanistan, or the gift of supplies to mothers in the Bronx. It’s a great stocking stuffer, but more importantly, it helps make real change in the world.”
Many other nonprofit organizations offer similar gift-giving programs, and they are great ways to put a face on the dollars we spend. It’s a lesson we can actually adopt for all of our spending: what does it mean and who benefits?
Ripple Effects
Washington alone shouldn’t get to decide who receives capital. We should arm ourselves with spending power, however much we can afford, and fire it at the best candidates. And we should think of it that way: as power.
Indeed, it does take some thinking. You have to look beyond the price tag and to the item or service you are buying, and then consider its ripple effect. Would we all, for example, if we had the money, rush out and buy new cars from Detroit to save the manufacturers there? Or would we all, if we could, donate to programs that help educate inner city children? (Somewhere in between, I bet, lies the answer.)
So as you balance your checkbook and decide how much to spend and on what, think a little bit about what that money will mean. Profit and nonprofit organizations can both use our dollars right now. But that doesn’t mean it’s all for one — or nothing.
We have the responsibility of keeping society afloat during hard times — and that includes businesses as well as charities; our conscience as well as our economy.
*This article originally appeared on Dow Jones’ MarketWatch.com Web site.
Last 5 posts by Thomas M. Kostigen
• Business Takes Up the Green Cause - April 26th, 2010
• The Need for a New Global Ethic - October 23rd, 2009
• SEC Steps in to Protect Investors - June 16th, 2009
• When Going Gets Tough, the Help Embezzles - June 2nd, 2009
• Shame Is a Powerful, Necessary Deterrent - May 22nd, 2009
