1. Sonja Caffe Par’b, 07/29/15

2.  The science of giving  The art of giving  How can we maximize our giving? Understanding giving and ourselves will help.

3.  Giving, selflessness, philanthropy  The origin of philanthropy – the desire to promote the welfare of others – has long been something of an enigma  Why do people give?  Humans as a whole are neither entirely selfish, nor entirely selfless, says David Rand, a psychology and economics researcher at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut

4.  In the US, 74 per cent of people donate to charity but give on average only between 2 and 6 per cent of their household income.  “People give, but they like to give a small amount,” says Rand  If we were purely altruistic, we would give everything we truly do not need to others who do

5.  But there is enough variation in giving habits to raise questions over why.  To investigate this, economists and social scientists have designed field experiments that test how different factors affect people’s actual giving behavior in a variety of situations:

6.  Findings:  Social factors are crucial according to Anya Samek, an economist at the University of Chicago:  For example, people are more likely to donate if they are told that many others are also donating.  Similarly, repeat givers will increase or decrease their donations if told that others gave less or more (American Economic Review, doi.org/crxrzd and Experimental Economics, doi.org/ftc3hj).

7.  Findings continued:  Some people donate because it gives them a “warm glow” – they genuinely feel good seeing others do well.  Others give because of the direct social pressure that arises when, for example, a collection plate makes the rounds at church.  Ohers focus on their reputations – giving can bring status and access to higher rungs of the social hierarchy.  Social learning: if a child grows up seeing that cooperation is the norm, his or her gut response will be to cooperate

8.  Question to us: which of these apply to me? Why did I give in the past? Why will I give in the future, and how much?

9.  Another movement is not so much in agreement that there is a science of giving.  In their view, giving is more of an art: an articulation of values and passions.

10.  Another movement is not so much in agreement that there is a science of giving.  In their view, giving is more of an art: an articulation of values and passions  They state that, if a donor loses sight of the passion, the context, the reason for giving in the first place, then the philanthropic act is empty and the risk of doing harm exponentially increases.  The art of philanthropy offers that needed context, fills in the void, and gives voice to the gift within the gift

11.  Fundamental are the ethical and moral assumptions that are at the core of philanthropy—the integrity of purpose, and of process and practice.  The concept of moral imagination, which Robert Wright beautifully defined as “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.”

12.  Understand my own reason (s) for and strategies of giving  Combine the art with the science of giving in our own giving: find the passion, the moral imagination, and the systematic approach  Multiply yourself; create strategies that will mobilize both the “artists” and the “scientists”.  Be a role model: “ The role models of giving are so very important.”

13. THANK YOU