Devotion

According to a recent Non Profit Times article, in 2008 giving dropped $6.4 billion, the largest drop on record. Just as more people are appealing to homeless shelters, food kitchens, and other charitable organizations, more people are cutting back on their spending, tightening their proverbial belts.

To most, this hardly comes as a surprise. As Del Martin, Chair of Giving USA Foundation, said, “There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that charitable giving would go down.”

However, Martin goes on to say, “What we find remarkable is that individuals, corporations and foundations still provided more that $307 billion, despite the economic conditions.”

In this light, the glass doesn’t look half full, but it doesn’t look empty either.

If anything can be said about human beings, it is surely that we are remarkably resilient. We can survive heartbreak, war, and depression and come out the other end to recreate our lives. But not everyone makes it through.

And this is why we need to give. Do not see the record drop in giving as discouragement, but as incentive. It shows that however hard we took the economic crisis, we did not give up on each other. We still gave, and we can give more.

One definition of “to give” in the Oxford English Dictionary is to devote. Devotion to a greater cause is what will bring us through tough times dignity intact. Together, we can devote ourselves to our common humanity.

2008 showed us we couldn’t be crushed, 2009 can show us our full potential.

Give. I urge you to. Make a difference in the life of one other person, and start there. 

In Fellowship and Humanity,

CAFW