I worked hard for my money...Why should I give it to you?!

Time and time again we are asked to give. To donate our time, our money, our resources, our knowledge, all to help someone else. Just walk down the street in Times Square and you'll see what I mean. You have the beggar on the corner asking for a few cents for the train, the hippie asking for some food for him and his dog, the activist asking for money for those infected with AIDS and the occasional teenager asking you to buy a snickers bar to support his or her basketball team. Take a look at the video below and tell me if you'd give up your hard earned money to any of these people in "need"...

Once you are done watching this, my question to you is, it really worth it to help these people out? Where does your money truly go to? Do they use it for what they say? I doubt we will ever get the answer to any of those questions, but does that mean that as a society we should stop giving to those less fortunate then us? Take a look at the video below. This man turns the tables on train-goers and instead of begging, he does something completely shocking...he gives.

Funny huh? Most people would not even accept his generosity. Would you? What do you think sparked him to do this? What does he gain from this? Follow me across the jump and see what I think.

So, would I accept his charity? Frankly, I doubt that I would have taken the donations from him either. I think it noble for him to go out of his way to do something charitable, but really its a bit weird. So, why did he do it? Why does anyone donate time and resources? In my opinion its because they gain joy from making someone else happy. But is this the same for companies and organizations? I think yes and no. Of course there are some organizations that donate simply because they want to help their publics, like Susan G. Komen for the Cure or the ASPCA, but I don't think the same can be said for larger corporations. There is simply too much for a company to gain from corporate philanthropy and it's not just a smile from a child in need. Take a look at the list I've compiled with all the public relations benefits of corporate philanthropy:

PR Advantages of Corporate Philanthropy 

• Positive view of company by it's publics
• Show goodwill
• Boost employee/stakeholder moral
• Most importantly...Consumers would rather buy from a company that supports worthy cause

 However, just as there are advantages, there are a few disadvantages that may be the reason behind why only 1 out of 3* corporations support charities. Below are some of those pitfalls:

 PR Pitfalls of Corporate Philanthropy

• The more companies donate the more is expected of them
• The benefits of corporate social responsibility or CSR can not always be measured
• Donating time and resources takes away from the time and resources you could be giving to your own company/organization

So what can we take from all this? Is donating time and resources a noble cause or is it too costly to justify? I'd have to argue that it depends. Donating your time and resources should make you feel good, you should do it because you want to and not because you feel pressured by society (or in the case of corporations by competition.) We all have a responsibility to better our society for the future generations, but what you do with that responsibility is completely up to you. I'll leave you with this quote from Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama, think about it as you steer through the twists and turns of life. See you at the finish line!

"If you wish to experience peace,

provide peace for another. "

 *Note: This figure comes from the 2nd edition of The Encyclopedia of Business