Giving while living

By Klaus Döring

Philanthropy is a very interesting topic. Philanthropy comes from the Greek “philein” (to love) and “anthropos” (man) and means a desire to help mankind, especially as shown by gifts to charitable institutions.

Philanthropists love and seek to do good for their fellow men and women and are paying more attention to how they give their money away, especially during this pandemic, when more and more people are losing jobs and businesses are collapsing.

Giving while living is a philosophy and wealth management strategy focused on distributing assets, charitable donations, or financial support during your lifetime, rather than hoarding them to pass on through a will. It allows you to witness the direct impact of your generosity and provides timely financial help to heirs when they need it most.

In times of pandemic, political crisis, and corruption, we might only observe our own pockets becoming emptier and emptier, while others’ overflow. Giving while living? Of course not. Getting and receiving as much as possible seems to me the motto many times.

One of the Bible’s books of poetry, Proverbs, offers advice on every imaginable area of life. The style of wise living described here leads to a fulfilled life. Proverbs 28:27 says: “He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses!”

In view of a feature in an old issue of the magazine “The Economist,” I learned that Andrew Carnegie (“The King of Steel,” 1835–1919) would surely have approved of Lord David Sainsbury. The supermarket tycoon turned politician was one of Great Britain’s richest men. It was reported that he not only intended to give away at least USD 1.83 billion during his lifetime but also insisted that his charitable foundation spend both its income and capital before he passed away.

Few rich donors have gone this far. But Lord Sainsbury’s decision was part of a broad trend among a new generation of philanthropists to play an active role in seeing that their money is very well spent. Such efforts should be applauded. In his great 1889 essay on wealth, Carnegie, who gave away about USD 7 billion in today’s money, argued that the rich had a duty to use most of their money to benefit the community and should do so actively during their lifetime. Let’s look around to see if we can still find such donors and patrons in our daily lives.

Giving while living is an entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy by which you actively devote your money, skills, and time to making a difference sooner rather than later. You can learn and make adjustments to get the biggest bang — and impact — for your buck. Give smart. Give now.

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