9- Philanthropy
Give, giving, gave. Philanthropy is the number 9th most common word spoken by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) folks, according to JustMeans.
Wikipedia says…Philanthropy is the effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations to orphanage and others poor who need help.
Seems a bit narrow for these current times….but then I ran across this old root definition – Philanthropia’—loving what it is to be human—was thought to be the key to civilization.
The key to civilization, huh? Interesting. Can you imagine that in the Corporate Social Responsibility world? Increase the well-being of humankind as the key to civilization. New word for that might be “sustainability.”
As I wrote recently, the tenth most commonly used word in CSR – accountability – is likely the most important of them all. We wouldn’t need it though if, in fact, everyone operated from the old philanthropia viewpoint.
But we don’t, so we must talk, define, embrace and inspire others to embed philanthropy in our communities, families and world.
Often times, however, philanthropy is seen as a lofty, unreachable goal. We see dollar signs when we hear the word. Companies likely think “foundations,” “huge donations” and maybe giving what they think they don’t have. Individuals likely think they need to win the lottery before becoming a philanthropist. Or the thought never even crosses their mind.
We suggest philanthropy can happen daily and make an impact with small, thoughtful steps.
If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming. -Goethe
Imagine being philanthropic in the way we treated our co-workers. What if we simply started out conversations by asking “how can I help you?” What if we walked around the office one afternoon with a healthful snack and a smile?
If you have a few bucks, why don’t you buy five or so gift cards in small amounts and hand them out to perfect strangers? See what happens. What if you did this as a team effort rallying your entire department to “take a coffee break” and fan out across your downtown or local retail area and just give the gift cards away. Then go have that important meeting you needed to have. Wonder how it will go.
Until your inspire people to see how they can give, how they can make an impact, your CSR efforts won’t be fully energized and your philanthropic abilities won’t be leveraged. It won’t matter how big your corporate giving effort is if your people are not connected to it. They need to “be” your philanthropy. They can be your best ambassadors.
Check back for some thoughts on #8.
