Earlier this year I read The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Guilded Age, by David Callahan. The recommendation for this book came from a friend as we had a group discussion about the financial stability of HBCUs. (Sadly, far too many are hanging on by
a thread.)
I decided to read this book because:
The recommendation came from a friend.
Other than The Giving Pledge created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, I had little knowledge about the large-scale philanthropy "industry."
Preparation for my future: I'm passionate about giving back, and with hard work, a supportive team, and God's blessings, I look forward to the day when I can give back on a large scale (like Billionaire Robert Smith).
Based on our group discussion about HBCUs, I expected the book to in some ways discuss how White people support their alma maters and other institutions that they hold dear, knowing that We [Black people] fail to do the same (for a variety of reasons, one being the wealth gap). However, the book was about SO MUCH more.
Below are some takeaways:
Folks are really out here playing generational chess. As it relates to generational wealth, We need a cultural transformation. We must run as far as we can with our metaphorical baton, then hand it off to the next generation to continue the marathon (shout out to Nip). Unfortunately, each generation typically begins the race in the blocks at the starter line, accelerates slowly, runs with extra weight/baggage, and has higher hurdles to jump.
We are extremely behind in our large-scale philanthropy. By large-scale philanthropy I mean purposefully giving away tens to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. I never thought about it before, but was blown away by the fact that people/families have enough wealth to give away millions of dollars, every year.
Many institutions and think tanks that have "official" and unbiased/independent-sounding names are funded by wealthy philanthropists to further their beliefs and ideals (some "good," some "bad," depending on what you think good and bad is). Often these philanthropists are businessmen/women and heirs/heiresses of fortunes. Their philanthropic giving to these institutions or to their own foundations are used to support staff, fund research, shape public policy, leverage the legal system, and influence politicians to further their cause. These causes range across health care, gun rights, education reform, civil rights, LGBT rights, marijuana decriminalization, and criminal justice reform, just to name a few. (Oh, and these philanthropists sometimes get tax breaks for giving to these "charitable" organizations.)
For example, among the many things they do, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation had a HUGE role in the adoption of the Common Core Standards Initiative, one of the largest public education policy implementations in recent memory.
Another interesting example, Warren Buffet's foundation (renamed the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation when she died in 2004) has been one of the largest supporters of reproductive health/rights and family planning, including funding research and donating to Planned Parenthood.
There's a push for philanthropists to accelerate their giving and give it all away to drive change during their lifetime. This will avoid dynastic control and power from a foundation that exists in perpetuity. Obviously I'm not a philanthropist yet, but because the wealth gap is so large when it comes to African Americans, I'm inclined to take the opposite approach and maintain a legacy of giving well after I'm dead, because who knows when the next Black philanthropist (think large-scale giving) will come along and further causes that are important and necessary for Us.
Those are my six cents :-) Now back to tryna get my money right...
留言