How I Got Here: A Short Philanthropic Biopic
In the introductory class I’m co-teaching on the theories and representations of philanthropy in the US, the students are asked to write their “philanthropic autobiography”, a rite of passage I somehow avoided while studying in the same program. Recognizing it was time for me to reflect on my own relationship to giving and receiving, I sat down this weekend to remember how I got here.
I was raised in a religious household where giving revolved around family and the church. My beloved paternal grandmother, who lived nearby, and my parents made weekly donations into the collection basket at mass and contributed to numerous US and international relief agencies aiding the impoverished. In addition to the church, my mother and grandmother were active volunteers at our local school and library. And my father, of rare blood type, regularly donated to the blood bank. My family also supported and volunteered at the regional soup kitchen, something I never really liked doing, although I don’t now recall why. Plus, they were inveterate supporters of public radio and television.
The Empty Bowls fundraising event is sponsored annually by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Handmade ceramic bowls are donated by local artisans and filled with culinary delights also donated by area restaurants and food purveyors.
I have always loved the rituals of gift giving around birthdays and holidays. I understood from an early age that the time I spent thinking about and carefully selecting or making just the right gift to suit a recipient’s personality and interests often engendered more private pleasure for me than receiving any gift I wanted in return. It turns out that generosity behavior has both a physiological and psychological impact on the giver, what economist James Andreoni refers to as the “warm glow” of giving.
When I was younger, I wasn’t cognizant of being the beneficiary of philanthropy, even though I was. Because of my interest and acumen in mathematics, I received a full tuition scholarship to attend college sponsored by one of the big insurance companies that likely saw a budding actuary in their midst. Little did they know that I would soon be disenfranchised by the all-male, misogynistic math faculty at the school who treated their few female students with such disrespect that I later switched my major to English literature. Fortunately for me, the insurance company offered a paid summer internship during each of my undergraduate years and I readily took advantage of this no-strings employment opportunity. I gravitated not to the actuarial department but to the in-house film production program equipped with a state-of-the-art studio where training films were made. I learned the art of storytelling and filmmaking from a team of creative professionals and skilled technicians, none of whom much cared about math. And that unexpectedly (or fortuitously, in hindsight) set me on my professional path that led to the nonprofit cultural sector and art museums, utilizing my knack for numbers and words to help them grow and thrive.
Although I no longer practice my parents’ religion, I was definitely influenced by their traditions. My own giving and volunteering today primarily focus on the arts, as well as our local public radio station, plus the state’s food bank working to combat food insecurity that despite our country’s wealth never seems to abate.
What’s your philanthropic journey?
Image credit: Courtesy of Rhode Island Community Food Bank, 2024