Starting October 1, I will give $100 to a stranger every day for the month. I have some ideas about how I will go about this, but it is still taking shape in my mind and I hope I’ll be open to shifting as I go.
I recognize we can never anticipate (and certainly not control) all the consequences of even our best-intended actions. I am bothered by the possibility that I could kill someone with my kindness. What if a heroin user overdoses as the result of a $100 windfall?
On the other hand, how many countless times have I consciously turned away from an obvious need? Â How many people have I walked blindly past, when even a couple of bucks might have made all the difference?
Have you given a gift (monetary or otherwise) and found out that it did much more good than you had hoped? Or harm that you never anticipated? Keep the stories coming!
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
It is often impossible to know whether a gift has had impact on the recipient, especially if the gift is cash. Money for tsunami relief – hard to know.
Here in Fiji, if I give cash, it is likely to be regifted to a church or used for everyday living, so I avoid that.
I’ve had more success with very targeted giving of ‘things’ and my time instead of cash. One beekeeeper that I gave queen-rearing equipment to is successfully raising hundreds of queens — impossible without my gift. I’ve volunteered time to train many beekeepers who are selling honey today, so that’s been wildly successful.
My most successful gift-giving was a present (not charity giving) to my parents in Oakland NJ more than 25 years ago: Their very first automatic garage door opener. They used it every day for 20 years. Many times they told me it’s the best gift they ever received.
I think giving is at least as rewarding as receiving.
John
I love this, and I love thinking about all the bees and honey you have sent out into the world. It is interesting that you avoid making gifts that will be used for everyday living. I want to think about that some more. Thanks for following along!!
Yeah, I prefer to give enduring physical assets. A musical instrument to a talented poor person, or glasses to someone who could never afford it themselves — those would be good gifts in my thinking (I’ve done neither).
Sometimes I view a gift as an investment. Not an investment where I expect a return, but one that might result in an even greater gain for the recipient down the road of life.
For instance, I paid for a Fijian girl’s education for several years in hopes she would break out of poverty. It didn’t turn out that way, but I tried.
John