128. "I donate, but am I a philanthropist?" Apparently it depends on your identities...

Do you donate money or volunteer your time for charitable causes? If so, you're engaging in philanthropic activities. But would you actually call yourself a "philanthropist"?

According to a recent report from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, there's a major disconnect between the public's understanding of philanthropy and how people view themselves in relation to it.

While 60% of Americans donated to charity and 30% volunteered in the past year, only 20% considered themselves philanthropists. Even those actively giving of their time, talents and treasure don't seem to self-identify with that label.

In this thought-provoking episode, we'll dive into unpacking this philanthropic identity paradox. Why is there such a divide between our charitable actions and how we perceive ourselves? What's holding people back from embracing the "philanthropist" title?

And what might be the advantages of identifying as a philanthropist?

Links from today’s episode:

"What Americans Think About Philanthropy and Nonprofits"

https://scholarworks.indianapolis.iu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/b5904a8a-5081-42cd-bd44-56740b98fb67/content 

ICYMI another episode you might enjoy:

Episode#116 MacKenzie Scott's Giving Strategy and What We Can Learn From It

Connect With Genet “GG” Gimja:

Website https://www.progressivepockets.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/prgrssvpckts 

Work With Me:

Email progressivepockets@gmail.com for brand partnerships, business inquiries, and speaking engagements.

Transcript

Welcome to Progressive Pockets! I go by GG, that’s short for Genet Gimja. This is a show about money, but it’s not about how to make more money, it’s a show about the money we have and the difference we can make with it. So you’ll hear episodes about how we might think about our giving, or if there are options for where we bank that might fit our societal values a little better, or even some socially responsible investing, that sort of thing.

Today’s episode is about who identifies as a philanthropist. I have a question for you…Do you identify as a philanthropist?

I was reading a recent report from Indiana University on public attitudes about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and came across some fascinating statistics. They did a nationwide survey and found that only about half of people could name a philanthropist. I thought that was so interesting.

Any guesses on who they named as examples? The most commonly named person was Bill Gates. So it seems like when Americans think of the word philanthropist they typically think of someone high-profile and wealthy.

Even though about 60% of the people in this large study donated to charity and 30% volunteered in the previous year, only 20% considered themselves a "philanthropist."

So it seems like there’s a hesitation to label themselves as philanthropists even if they are taking the actions.

But there were some demographic differences in who was more likely to self-identify as a philanthropist versus who tended not to.

Younger individuals were more likely to self-identify as philanthropists compared to older people, even when they had donated the same amount of money over the course of the year.

Black/African Americans were more likely to self-identify as philanthropists than White/Caucasian non-Hispanics even when they had donated the same amount of money over the course of the year.

Women were more likely than men to donate and self-identify as philanthropists even when they had donated the same amount of money over the course of the year.

Higher income individuals were more likely to donate but less likely to self-identify as philanthropists compared to people with lower incomes.

Married individuals were more likely to self-identify as philanthropists.

The more religious a person is, the more likely they were to donate, volunteer, and identify as a philanthropist.

Personally, if you asked me to write a list of things to describe myself, I would never come up with the word “philanthropist.” But if you stopped me in Dupont Circle with a clipboard and asked me if I was a “philanthropist” I think I would say yes. Because technically it is true. It sounds a little…braggy? Is that what it is? I think I’d have to be giving away significant portions of my income or wealth, to call myself a philanthropist. Which is funny because if you’re a long time listener of the show you’re familiar with the celebrity giving series, you’ll know that one of my research interests is where celebs donate and it seems like there are some celebrities who absolutely identify as philanthropists because they donate their names to advocating for certain causes, so for them it’s not even necessarily about donating their money but about bringing awareness to an issue. So I guess identifying as a philanthropist is really in the eye of the beholder.

One thing that I think is helpful about seeing yourself as a philanthropist is that it is likely that you’ll be more consistent in your giving. Less likely to hesitate before helping. It’s like if you identify as an active person, maybe you’d be more likely to say yes to doing active stuff. Me personally, I wouldn’t know. That’s not my ministry LOL. But there are other things I identify as, for example, I identify as a creative person and that means when I see things geared towards creatives, my attention is automatically peaked, I’m primed to say yes, I’m primed to get involved and I think the same is probably true if you identify as a generous person or as a philanthropist to be specific.

Identifying as a philanthropist or some other identity probably also makes us more likely to form communities with other people who share that identity which could probably also reinforce that behavior or tendency. And what a wonderful thing to find fellowship with others who want to give.

So to recap, here’s what we covered today:

• Despite most people donating to charity and volunteering, only a fifth of people self-identified as a "philanthropist" - which means there’s a disconnect between philanthropic actions and self-applying that label.
• Demographic factors influenced self-identification as a "philanthropist" - younger people, Black people, women, married people, those with lower incomes, and the more religious were more likely to self-identify as philanthropists.
• Identifying as a philanthropist might reinforce generous behaviors. 

If you have more time today, and you want to hear about a big time philanthropist and how she decides where to donate, you could check out episode 116 about MacKenzie Scott.

I will include the link to the big study I referenced today in the show notes. 

If you have a moment, please tap on your podcast player and leave Progressive Pockets a 5 star review. If you have two moments, write some comments with that 5 star review and let other listeners know why you enjoy the show. Thank you for doing that!

Let’s end with a quote…this one comes from James Baldwin.

“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”

Let’s talk again soon!