Venture capitalist Marc Andreesen has asserted in a recent manifesto that “markets are how we take care of people we don’t know,” and “technological innovation in a market system is inherently philanthropic, by a 50:1 ratio,” basically redefining the concept of philanthropy so that the more money people make from what Andreesen calls the “techno-capital machine,” the more philanthropic they are – whether they choose to then make charitable contributions or not.
This assertion follows similar pronouncements from Google founder Larry Page that the most philanthropic thing that he could do with his fortune would be to give it to Elon Musk, and PayPal founder Peter Thiel that seeking revenge on Gawker by bankrolling legal cases against the company was “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done.”
This is not philanthropy.
By its simplest definition, philanthropy is “the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes” (Oxford Languages) or a “disposition or effort to promote the happiness or social elevation of mankind, as by making donations” (Funk & Wagnalls).
Philanthropy is children collecting coins on Halloween for the benefit of less fortunate kids through UNICEF. Philanthropy is supporting your local United Way or food bank or school or dance company. Philanthropy is hedge fund manager Bill Ackman donating his time and money to rebuild a playground in Hell’s Kitchen and helping to subsidize accessible tickets at the nonprofit theater that I manage.
Other billionaires, including Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, George Soros, and Michael Bloomberg, are also busy giving away their fortunes through philanthropic enterprises and foundations. Their work has resulted in achievements such as thousands of women being enrolled in vocational and education programs, millions of lives saved by tobacco reduction efforts and polio and Covid-19 vaccines, new research into life-threatening diseases and the effects of changes in climate, and criminal justice reform.
MacKenzie Scott is using her vast financial resources to support “high impact” groups that address systemic inequities deepened by the pandemic (sometimes anonymously), and Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are giving billions toward biodiversity conservation and biomedical imaging.
But you don’t have to be a billionaire to be philanthropic. Indeed, according to Giving USA, Americans contributed a record $485 billion to charitable causes in 2021 with over 70 percent of that coming from individuals. Giving to religion, human services, and education outstripped contributions to arts and culture or the environment, and many of those contributions were in small dollar amounts.
According to research by LendingTree, Americans donated an average of $574 in 2021. More baby boomers donated to charity than any other generation (60 percent), but millennials donated the largest average amount ($637). Food banks were the most popular cause for Americans in 2021, and Birmingham, Alabama was the most charitable metropolitan area with almost 92 percent of itemized tax returns containing one or more charitable contributions.
Social media now plays a significant role in individual philanthropy with nearly half of Gen Zers donating to a cause that they discovered on social media and 43 percent contributing to a crowdfunding campaign.
As we approach the holidays, a traditional time for people to give thanks by giving back to help their communities and the less fortunate, let’s remember that the art of making money is not the same as the art of giving it away.
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