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The Giving Pledge promises charitable support

26 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The rich man in this Sunday’s gospel learns too late of the consequences of ignoring the poor and suffering during his lifetime. Apparently he missed the memo from the prophet Amos, who in this Sunday’s first reading says: “Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches . . . . their wanton revelry shall be done away with.” A growing number of billionaires are doing their best to wise up before their time is up. They have joined “The Giving Pledge” initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and investor Warren Buffet that asks the superrich to give at least half their fortunes to charitable causes. This week a Chinese philanthropist joined the effort. The Gateses and Buffet are hoping to generate $600 billion in charitable giving through the initiative launched in June. Buffet has pledged 99 percent of his wealth to philanthropy. He wrote in a letter explaining his pledge, “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. “Were we to use more than 1 percent of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99 percent can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others,” Buffet wrote. Gates and Buffett plan to make their pitch to Chinese billionaires in person in Beijing at a special dinner on September 29. Around 50 super-wealthy Chinese businesspeople have been invited to the banquet. Philanthropist Chen Guangbiao has already accepted the challenge. In an open letter to Gates and Buffett posted on his company website, he pledges to donate his entire fortune of more than five billion yuan ($735 million) to charity when he dies. Chen’s letter says that it will be a “glory” to return his entire fortune to society and that it is a “shame” to die hoarding wealth. The readings this Sunday offer what might be called a rich opportunity to discuss charitable giving, generosity, and stewardship in the context of local and parish needs. While few of us have fortunes to give away, all of us can do something. Even modest giving, when sustained over time, can make a huge difference for others—not to mention for our own eternal well being. Source: Articles by Betsy Brill for Forbes.com, Bess Langbein for the Maryland Gazette, Deidre Woollard for Luxist.com, and a Story Starter by Joel Schorn for Prepare the Word (see this week’s "Exploring the Word" resources)

chen guangbiao philanthropy charitable giving giving pledge warren buffet bill melinda gates foundation

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Doing well by doing good

10 Oct 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

When Naaman is healed of leprosy in this Sunday’s first reading, he offers Elisha a gift in return, which Elisha refuses. Government and charitable handouts to the poor have come into increasing disfavor among a group of development specialists and wealthy philanthropists who prefer using good old-fashioned capitalism to address poverty. Vinod Khosla, a billionaire venture capitalist and cofounder of Sun Microsystems, is a leading proponent of a movement to replace charitable handouts with microloans and venture capital investments. By backing businesses that provide education loans or distribute solar panels in villages, he says, he wants to show that commercial entities can better help people in poverty than most nonprofit charitable organizations. “There needs to be more experiments in building sustainable businesses going after the market for the poor,” says Khosla. “It has to be done in a sustainable way. There is not enough money to be given away in the world to make the poor well off.” Advocates of microlending find support for the idea from the work of business management professors like the late C. K. Prahalad, who have argued that large corporations can do well and do good by aiming at people at the so-called bottom of the pyramid. Besides Khosla, entrepreneurs like Pierre Omidyar, a cofounder of eBay, and Stephen M. Case, a cofounder of America Online, have started funds with similar aims. But Khosla, 55, who moved to the United States from India as a graduate student in 1976, has another motive. He wants to goad other rich Indians into giving away more of their wealth. A recent study estimated that Indians give much less as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product than Americans. Rich Indians “are more into temple building and things like that,” said Samit Ghosh, the chief executive of Ujjivan Financial, a microlender based in Bangalore, “rather than putting their money into real programs, which will have real impact on poverty alleviation.” Khosla said his experience with microfinance had helped shape his views on the best way to tackle poverty. He has invested in commercial microfinance lenders and has donated to nonprofit ones, and he said that moneymaking versions had grown much faster and reached many more needy borrowers. Source: An article by Vikas Bajaj for the New York Times

poverty philanthropy charitable giving mirolending indians microfinancing vinod khosla

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Cafe chain casts its bread upon the waters

22 May 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist speaks of justice, right, and kindness this Sunday, but most of all of trust--placing ours in the Lord, whose works are trustworthy. The Panera Bread Company restaurant chain is trusting its customers to do what is just and right. At the nonprofit Panera Cares cafes the company launched a year ago, customers take the food they need and donate what they can. The concept is working, company officials say, and will be expanded. Panera Cares cafes have no prices or cash registers but instead provide cashiers who give out receipts with suggested prices and direct customers to the store’s donation boxes. About 60 percent of customers leave the suggested donation, while 20 percent leave more and 20 percent leave less, the company said. Patrons who can’t pay are asked to volunteer their time. The money collected goes to help the hungry and train troubled youth. Since being launched in Missouri a year ago, additional Panera Cares cafes have opened in Dearborn, Michigan and Portland, Oregon. “I’m trying to find out what human nature is all about,” said Ron Shaich, who recently stepped down as Panera’s CEO but remains as chairman. “My hope is that we can eventually do this in every community where there’s a Panera.” Source: Articles by Bruce Horovitz for USA TODAY and The Business Journal

philanthropy panera panera cares ron shaich

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Homily stories

20 May 2012 - Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Cycle B

Julius Rosenwald was a generous man. After serving as president of the Sears company from 1908-1924, he concentrated on philanthropy, giving away $63 million—$630 million in today’s dollars—to educational and cultural institutions and Jewish charities. Of special interest to him was the African American community. In partnership with Booker T. Washington, he used challenge grants to fund 5,000 public schools to give poor rural African American children the opportunity to learn to read and write, and also paid for 4,000 libraries for existing schools. In an era when Y.M.C.A.’s were for whites only, he led the effort to create 25 Y.M.C.A.’s and Y.W.C.A.’s for African Americans in cities across the U.S. Whether it was helping impoverished Eastern European immigrants in Chicago or giving African Americans greater access to education and housing, Julius Rosenwald, a great man of great wealth, cared about and came to the assistance of the outsider and disadvantaged. The Ascension of Jesus is about the power of change and the possibility of transformation, about a God who was willing to reach down to humanity and bring it up into divine life. We can participate in that process by reaching out ourselves and helping to change the life of our neighbor.

Authors Joel Schorn

Ascension Transformation Charity philanthropy

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Homily stories

26 Sep 2010 - Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

In one of the great role reversals of all time, the rich man in the gospel story learns too late of the consequences of ignoring the needs of those who are poor and suffering. Nearly 40 billionaires today, though, are doing their best to stay on Father Abraham's side of the "great chasm" separating the miserly from the blessed. They are following the lead of Microsoft head Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to give away substantial parts of their fortunes. The 38 additional billionaires, who have signed on to an effort called The Giving Pledge, are pledging half their wealth to charity. Gates and Buffett estimate that The Giving Pledge could mean $600 billion in donations to charities. The group includes New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller, film director George Lucas, and investor Ronald Perelman, MSNBC reported. Said Bloomberg about having enormous wealth: "You can't spend it if you have over a certain amount." Abraham did not think the rich man's brothers would listen to a warning of what awaited them if they continued in their uncharitable ways, but apparently there are at least a few rich folks who are listening.

Authors Joel Schorn

Wealth Charity philanthropy Generosity

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Homily stories

27 Jun 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

What began as a simple winetasting fundraiser to help support global clean-water projects became the life's passion of Doc Hendley, founder of Wine to Water, an organization dedicated to providing clean water to people in developing countries. Since 2004, Hendley has traveled throughout Africa, Asia, and very recently Haiti to help local communities build clean water wells and sanitation systems. The 30-something North Carolinian first learned about the world's water crisis when he took a break from college to travel the world. He was floored by what he saw and the shocking statistics that he uncovered: More than 1 billion people lack access to adequate water for drinking and sanitation, which translates to 1.5 million preventable deaths each year. Wine to Water is dedicated to achieving sustainability by training people to install, maintain, and repair their own water systems. To date, Hendley's group has brought safe drinking water to well over 25,000 individuals in refugee camps, orphanages, schools, hospitals, and even a leper colony. Hendley, who was recently named a CNN hero, says his work may be a drop in the bucket, but to him it's nothing short of a miracle. "You can be a bartender in Raleigh, North Carolina," he says. "You can be just a regular anybody. And you really, really can change the world. You can touch thousands of lives. I'm walking truth of that."

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

Charity philanthropy Water Environment

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Fact of the week

19 Jun 2016 - Preaching the News for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Charitable giving rose 5.4 percent last year to a record $358.4 billion, according to estimates released today by "Giving USA," the annual snapshot of American philanthropy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy

charitable giving philanthropy

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Billionaire philanthropists set an example

30 Oct 2016 - Preaching the News for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

This Sunday’s gospel describes how a wealthy man, Zacchaeus, is changed by his encounter with Jesus, promising to give “half of my possessions” to the poor. If he could see his way to giving away a little more than half his fortune, Zacchaeus would qualify for the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2008 to encourage wealthy people to give away a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes, either during their lives or in their wills. The group added added 17 new members this year, bringing the elite group’s membership to 154 signatories from 16 countries around the world. The Giving Pledge is a multigenerational, global effort to help address society’s biggest issues—from poverty alleviation to health care to education. The group is specifically focused on billionaires (or those who would be billionaires if not for their big-ticket giving) and was initially meant to attract U.S.-based donors. The effort has expanded worldwide as families and individuals abroad have pledged to give away more than half their wealth. The new additions include a diverse group of entrepreneurs and business leaders, representing such industries as technology, medicine, biotech, real estate, and dairy farming. “This new group joining the Giving Pledge is incredibly thoughtful about their desire to give back and help solve the world’s toughest challenges through philanthropy,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Some have been giving for decades and others are just starting out after building successful businesses, but they all see the value of giving in a bold and effective way.” The new signatories join a legendary list of names, including Richard and Joan Branson, Ted Turner, Sheryl Sandberg, and David Rockefeller, to name just a few. The pledge does not involve pooling any money or committing to any specific cause. It only asks that those who commit to the group to give away a majority of their wealth—either while they are alive or in their wills. Signatories use their philanthropic resources to support a range of causes and hold an annual two-day learning conference that provides them the opportunity to hear from outside experts and learn from each other about how to give effectively across a range of issues. Topics discussed at this year’s annual gathering included leveraging philanthropy to drive women’s opportunities in the global economy, opportunities and challenges for giving internationally, solving environmental issues, engaging in urban renewal projects, and philanthropy’s role in advancing scientific discovery. Lessons drawn from the readings God has pity on all that is because everything belongs to God, we are told in the first reading, according to this week’s Sunday Summary. This is an attitude all of us would do well to adopt toward our earthly belongs. Though the vast majority of us can’t afford to give away half of our net worth and still be in a position to meet essential needs, the original intent of the Giving Pledge was not only to create a group of billionaire philanthropists. It also was designed to encourage, by example, increased philanthropy at all levels of capacity. Robert Rosen, the director of philanthropic partnerships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, encourages people across the financial spectrum to consider making a “pledge” to philanthropy: “Not all of us can give away half of our wealth, but the idea of the Giving Pledge can help encourage an important conversation with your spouse or family about what’s possible in terms of generosity and the positive impact that giving can have on society.” Good advice for us regardless of our income bracket. Reflecting on the fact that all that we have flows from and belongs to God is a good place to start the conversation. Final thought in light of the news As CBS News reported several years ago, the wealthiest 400 Americans are worth more than $2 trillion. Together, it's been reported they own as much wealth as the bottom half of American households combined. While resentment toward the super rich is widespread, there may be a silver lining taking shape, says CBS. It turns out a lot of those rich people are giving staggering sums of money away, in what is being called a golden age of philanthropy. Perhaps some instead will call for greater attention to income inequality. Others will point to the fact that charity and economic justice are not the same thing. True enough. Still, suffering persists, the needs are great, and we can applaud anyone willing to give away the majority of their accumulated wealth to address some of that suffering.

billionaires philanthropy philanthropists warren buffett Bill Gates melinda gates the giving pledge bill & melinda gates foundation
Fact of the week

30 Oct 2016 - Preaching the News for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

With an estimated net worth of more than $780 billion, the 156 Giving Pledge participants represent a potentially game-changing force in philanthropy. Eye on the Giving Pledge

philanthropy philanthropists the giving pledge
Homily stories

09 Feb 2020 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

When Beth unexpectedly inherited a large amount of money, she was scared. She had never managed such a sum before, and she was intimidated by the prospect of handling this responsibility correctly. Her future would be secure as long as she didn’t make any mistakes, so she set about learning how to invest wisely and working with trustworthy, expert professionals. And she resisted the temptation to spend too much of it! Through the process, she discovered confidence in herself. She could make smart financial decisions. That confidence led her to want to do more with the money—she wanted to help people with it and apply her newfound savvy. She became a philanthropist and she developed strategies to maximize the effectiveness of her gifts—one of which was widely telling others what she was giving to. She found her listeners then started donating to the same causes. She encouraged women in particular not to give anonymously, not to be too humble about their giving—in order to help other women realize they could do the same. It’s not bragging if your intentions are charitable. Don’t put your lamp under a basket indeed!

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

charitable giving philanthropy

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