My dream is to make fundraising principles available globally such that those seeking to transform the world are affordable empowered to do so.

Please stay tuned as I expand this dream and create the brand FUNdraising Frank.

Why I think philanthropy is so uniquely American.

In my previous post I stated that we give slightly more than 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) to charity, every year in America – at least since it has been tracked for over 80 years.  I suspect that this has been constant since the colonies organized.  We are unique in the world in this; no other country comes close as a percentage of GDP, and America still has the largest economy on Earth so no other country comes close to the over $300 Billion given to philanthropy here.

I do not believe that this means anything in particular – no judgment of good, bad, better than, worse than or any such nonsense.  It just is, and I believe there is a specific reason for that.  Think about human history before America was introduced to the broader world when Christopher Columbus came across the Atlantic.  Before that, history in Europe, Asia and Africa tells us that there were Kings, Queens, Lords of all sorts, and then their charges, peasants, serfs, slaves etc.  You either had, or you had not.  Even if you had, your chances of gaining more were through marriage or conquest.  Enterprise rarely came into the equation.

So we began to populate America with all classes of people who went out and homesteaded by taking land from the indigenous people here (and that is a whole different discussion).  People worked hard and built farms and ranches from nothing.  Somewhere in there they looked around and saw that they had crops and livestock, a home that was their own and they remarked that never in the history of their entire family had anyone been so successful.  It was amazing: people who had a future of working in factory or on a farm belonging to a landlord had little hope of amounting to much in their country of origin, and now they found themselves rich beyond their wildest dreams.  They had worked and they had prospered – a simple equation that still applies today.

I think many of them, in the twilight of their lives, thought “my goodness, this has been a great ride and I have more than I ever imagined…” They went to their neighbors and devised a plan that they would each give a share of their crops so that they could build a church and worship together.  Later, they shared in the cost to build a school house so that their children could maybe advance from where they had already gotten – have it even better.  Still later they clubbed together and gave to build a home for a doctor and bring that doctor to their communities so that they might have some care when they got sick and injured.

Thus, I think were the habits of giving born and cultivated in America.  Never before in the history of the human race had there been such opportunity.  These people were not greedy, they were grateful, and they shared their good fortune to make their world and that of others better.  Today, Americans continue to have greater opportunity that most of the world and the reasons for that are also another discussion, but it is so.  We are still profoundly grateful for our lot in life and despite any economic conditions we give over 2% of GDP to charity – remember from my previous post that 84% of that is given by people just like you and me, some more, some less of course, but about $1,020 per man, woman and child in America.  I am very proud to be a part of that, and to be in the fortunate position to be a little more generous than average.

I am also very proud of the other people in the world that are starting to follow suit and giving to the causes that are around them, depending less and less on governments to make things happen.

Philanthropy is one of the many things that make America so great.

I love saying that to people, not only because it is true, but also because they light up when they are exposed to their own magnificence by an immigrant.    Deservedly so, let me explain if you don’t already know.

Take a wild guess as to how much money was given to charity, in America, in 2008 as the Country was nose diving into a recession.  Clearly, I think it was impressive.  So what did you guess? 

Most people say around $50 million, so let’s go with that for now.  So the next question is where did that money come from?  Was it from the government? The corporations?  Foundations?

Reflect on your answers now.  The answer according to Giving USA is $307 billion was given in 2008 in America as the world was tumbling into a financial meltdown.  It was 2.2% of the US economy that year and unmatched worldwide – we are unique in this.  People say to me, that, of course it was an unusually high giving year because the common man was hurting, and so the corporations were extra, extra generous.

Let’s consider that notion.  Corporations are designed to make profits for shareholders and perhaps to create employment – there is nothing wrong with that; God bless them, but they are not designed for philanthropy: corporations represent about 6% of total charitable giving in America.  Secondly, it was not really an unusual year, historically America gives around 2% of GDP to charity every year, good economies, bad economies, it doesn’t matter, in America 2% of GDP goes to charity every year and no other Country on Earth comes close to that, and given that we are still the largest economy on the planet, no other country comes close to the over $300 billion we give to charity each of the recent years.

The second question is intentionally asked in a misleading way – who gave the money?  The same group that was responsible for the “dear John” letter written to England some 230 years ago: we the people gave that money.  Specifically some 76% of all charitable contributions are made by individual people every year and another 8% is given in people estate plans when they die.  So think about it: God bless Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, but they are only a drop in the bucket; okay a large drop, but a drop in the bucket none-the-less.

Also when you thin k about it, it amounts to over $1,000 per man, woman and child given to charity in America every year.  Given that, I invite you to consider how many people are in your community, however you choose to define that, and then consider how much is being given to charity from that community i.e. number of people times $1,000.  How much of that leaves the community and how much stays in the community?

Brief Bio

Hi,
My name is Frank Albert and I have been fundraising for rural healthcare organizations sine 1999.
Here is what one of my professional bios reads:

Frank Albert, VP, has over 12 years experience helping small and medium sized non-profits in the rural arena.  He has worked in all phases of fundraising from initial contact, feasibility studies and full and part-time fundraising campaigns.  Frank also mentors those wishing to learn the art of fundraising, and supervises them to complete successful fundraising programs.

Frank has proved himself to be a community builder for the clients he has served.  He is a seasoned veteran and team leader in fundraising in smaller communities.  He has produced outstanding results throughout the mid-west and has references to match his exceptional record.

Frank’s home base is in Evergreen, Colorado.  He has been involved in fundraising from the age of 12 when he first helped his local church in England.  He has been a proud and productive citizen of USA since 1988, and originates from Prague, Czech Republic.

During Frank’s fundraising career he has helped clients in various capacities, including 10 capital campaigns in five States.  He has raised over $25 million in philanthropic donations in rural communities.