what is the big secret to this transformational change? It's this: How we give is as important as how much we give or which causes we support.
Let me make it as clear as I can: The key word here is how.
How.
How we give matters. How we give allows us to be transformational.
So when it comes to giving that matters, what stands in our way? The thing between us and that type of transformational giving is something I call Delusional Altruism. Now, by “delusional,” I don't mean we're stupid or crazy. I mean we're hindering our impact unnecessarily, because of a handful of deceptive and illogical thoughts we choose to hold dear. These illogical thoughts are making us get in our own way, and we don't even realize it. When we can't get out of our way, we reduce our speed to impact. When we don't realize it, it's difficult for us to change.
Delusional altruism shows up in our lives in different ways. For some of us, it's a scarcity mentality. For others its fear. Many of us ask the wrong questions, which send us down the wrong paths. Or we let ourselves be fooled by our own efforts.
In Part I of this book, we'll examine the seven most common ways we experience Delusional Altruism. Of course, not everyone suffers from all seven, but suffering from even one can derail a program of giving. The good thing is that no matter how many delusional thoughts you suffer from, none of them need be permanent. You can rid yourself not only of the thought but of the effect that thought has on your giving. In other words, you can turn things around—both in your mind and in the world.
In Part II, we'll look at the top seven strategies for Transformational Giving and how you can use them to defeat any of the delusions you or your organization hold. Together, the philosophy behind these strategies constitute a mind-set that will make you unstoppable. It will alter how you see the world and how you can create change in people's lives.
I hope you're ready to begin. After all, the work you're doing is too important to put off or get wrong. We all need what you bring to the table. The planet is waiting for you to up your game and make your giving as powerful as it can possibly be. The world needs you. Let's go!
Notes
1 1. https://www.privatebank.bankofamerica.com/publish/content/application/pdf/GWMOL/USTp_ARMCGDN7_oct_2017.pdf.
2 2. https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2019-americans-gave-427-71-billion-to-charity-in-2018-amid-complex-year-for-charitable-giving/.
3 3. Foundation Center (Active US Foundations by Foundation Type, 2017) https://candid.org/.
4 4. https://www.nptrust.org/reports/daf-report/.
5 5. https://efc.issuelab.org/resource/an-overview-of-philanthropy-in-europe.html.
6 6. https://www.swissfoundations.ch/sites/default/files/European_Foundation_Sector_Report_2015_0.pdf .
7 7. https://ernop.eu/giving-in-europe-launched-at-spring-of-philanthropy/.
8 8. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/philanthropy-in-china/.
9 9. Ibid.
10 10. https://info.cerulli.com/HNW-Transfer-of-Wealth-Cerulli.html?utm_source=CNBC&utm_medium=Press%2520Release&utm_campaign=1811%2520High%2520Net%2520Worth%2520PR and https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/20/great-wealth-transfer-is-passing-from-baby-boomers-to-gen-x-millennials.html.
11 11. https://www.fortuneindia.com/opinion/giving-more-power-to-the-people/102342.
12 12. https://www.cafonline.org/about-us/publications/2019-publications/caf-world-giving-index-10th-edition.
1 You Save Money on All the Wrong Things
Philanthropists like to save money, but they save it on the wrong things. Let me explain what I mean.
Foundation leaders, donors, professional athletes, corporate executives—all philanthropists—want to be good caretakers of their charitable wealth. They want their assets and profits to grow, so there's more wealth to give. They also want to reduce their charitable costs and save money, so there's more left over to give to the causes they care about.
All of this is well and good.
The trouble is, in their altruistic effort to be frugal, they hold back on investment in important things like talent, strategy development, research, evaluation, technology, relationship building, and even their own personal learning. They hold back investment in their grantees, too.
They do this by setting arbitrary limits on how much money can be spent on nonprofit “overhead,” or on when they expect to see grantees' results, but at the same time they refuse to fund evaluation costs. When they do this, they hamstring themselves and the nonprofits they support. They genuinely want their philanthropy to change the world, but they're under a misguided belief that saving leads to impact. They're delusional about the damage caused by their thrift.
Frugality rarely leads to social change.
This type of destructive frugality
