Downtown voices: Pondering the meaning of generosity
Downtown Journal
Nathan Dungan
October 30, 2006
If you and a friend were chatting over a meal and your friend asked, "What does it mean to live in a generous community," what would you say?
Would you have a response at the ready or would you be caught off-guard, flummoxed by the unexpected inquiry?
Recently, I facilitated a panel of community leaders at the Basilica of St. Mary and asked them this very question. The panel consisted of Mayor R.T. Rybak, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Hart-Andersen of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Marina Munoz Lyon of the Pohlad Family Foundation, Joe Cavanaugh of Youth Frontiers, Julie Gilbert of Best Buy and Kou Xiong, a YouthCARE participant and a first year student at Gustavus Adolphus College.
For approximately 90 minutes, the panel shared their views on a variety of issues connected to the topic of generosity -- from the impact it has on youth development to the barriers that prevent us from being generous. The audience, which consisted of everyone from seasoned philanthropists to Carlson School students from the U of M, participated as well by offering up questions to the panelists.
Let me share some data from the National Philanthropic Trust (www.nptrust.org) to put the issue in context.
- In 2005, total giving in the U.S. reached $260 billion, an increase of 6.1 percent over 2004.
- Fifty-five percent of American adults (roughly 84 million) volunteer annually.
- There are more then 1 million charitable organizations in the U.S.
- Total giving has increased in 41 out of the last 42 years.
- Charitable giving accounts for roughly 2.1 percent of our annual $11.8 trillion economy.
Based on this current information, it would appear that Americans are a rather generous lot. But don't start the celebration just yet. Before we start patting each other on the back, there is some looming data that deserves our attention.
- There are roughly 83 million young people in America under the age of 25.
- By their senior year in college, students have on average four credit cards and roughly $3,000 of credit card debt (according to Nellie Mae statistics).
- According to data just released from the Bureau of Labor, the after-tax savings rate of young adults 35 and under is negative 16 percent, which means their spending is greatly outpacing their earning.
- The average credit card debt for young adults age 25-34 is $5,200 (according to Business Week magazine).
- Real earnings for college graduates without advanced degrees have fallen in the last five years (Business Week).
Make no mistake about it; the current financial trends of this behemoth demographic group should give us all cause for pause.
When it comes to generosity and money, the ability to share with others is in direct proportion to one's financial capacity. If you are faced with a mountain of debt -- both consumer- and education-based -- and you haven't saved much money, what will happen when a nonprofit makes an appeal for support?
A quick example will illustrate my point. I serve on the Foundation Board of Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota. For every 1 percent of funding they lose due to state and federal government cuts, individual giving must increase by roughly 10 percent -- and that's just to break even.
With individuals accounting for roughly 75 percent of all philanthropy, I wonder and worry about the future of our communities. Will we be able to sustain our long-standing habits of generosity? And while sharing of one's time is often a leading indicator of future financial generosity, the current trends would indicate that is likely to change as well.
One panel discussion won't greatly alter the future state of generosity, but hopefully it will inspire us to raise the question -- in our homes, our businesses, our faith communities and our educational institutions. A thoughtful discussion today might well lead to new ways for being generous tomorrow.
Nathan Dungan is president and founder of Share Save Spend, an organization that helps people of all ages develop and maintain healthy financial habits.
Reprinted with permission of Downtown Journal
