2008 Race for the Cure
(Image from NCGives' documentary series, North Carolina Giving: Philanthropy Across Cultures)

 

On average, the human heart beats more than two-and-a-half billion times without a rest. And yet, we don't stop and think about our heart beating. We take for granted that it will keep working tirelessly; beating from before we are born and maintaining life every moment until it stops.

In the same way, giving is the heartbeat of community.

Take a moment right now, stop reading and think about your recent past - month, week, even a day. Think about all that you have done. Did you give someone a ride? Did you buy someone a meal? Maybe you gave a friend or loved one a call that lifted their spirits or helped a relative cover the cost of school.

Did you consider yourself a philanthropist? Probably not. In every community and every culture there are traditions of giving that permeate daily life.

They are the things we do without thinking and, most of the time, without any expectation of notice. We do them because they are a part of who we are. As many say, "It's just the right thing to do."

And yet these acts - sometimes small, sometimes large - are so often the glue of community. They are the acts of philanthropy, grounded in its root definition of "love for humanity," that have maintained community throughout generations...
 

The above article is an excerpt from Donna's introductory letter for Giving and Community, a new page of the Philanthropy Journal sponsored by NCGives. Read Donna's full remarks here.