The Haney Company Financial Guy Podcast: Radical Generosity & Charitable Giving!
January 04, 2024
The charitable giving sector has experienced a decline over the past decade, prompting questions about whether it reflects a lack of generosity or a disconnect between donors and charities. This issue, along with how to face this challenge and the future of the sector, took center stage in a conversation between our founder and CEO, John Bromley, and Brian Haney on The Haney Company Financial Guy Podcast.
According to Bromley, the sector's decline is not attributable to a lack of generosity but rather stems from people not knowing how to translate their generosity into the desired change in the world.
"Because charitable giving is this sort of nice thing that we're supposed to do every now and again and because charitable giving is too often something people only do when they're asked to do it by a fundraiser in most cases, there's a disconnection often between your time, talent, and treasure and what you're giving to." (John Bromley, 19:58)
Breaking down the barriers, empowering the donor
Bromley emphasizes that donors must take responsibility in decision-making about giving, involving a deep understanding of what they genuinely want to support. He advises to "start giving to things that you really truly love, like, quote, 'love.' What we mean by love isn't just that you think you like it a lot; it means you actually love it, even getting to know more and more of its reality, including its flaws. So when you give to things that you really know something about, it's much easier to navigate."
Efficiency in charitable giving, according to Bromley, involves aligning your time, your talent, and your treasure. He notes that people rarely align these aspects behind something they are not interested in or know nothing about. To determine whether a charity is genuinely "good," Bromley suggests spending time volunteering for the charity, combining both time and talent to determine affinity.
If you are interested in learning more about charitable giving and enhancing the connection with generosity as a donor, listen to the full interview here.