By V Srinivasan, PGP 79
Caption: Representational image, designed by Freepik
We all know the Maslovian hierarchy of needs which essentially guides us through the human needs from the very basic to the ultimate “self -actualization.” This article is about using a similar hierarchical model in understanding the various facets of philanthropy.
Philanthropy means generosity in all its forms, it is all about love of humanity and is often defined as giving the gifts of ‘time, talent and treasure’ to help make life better for other people and the sections of the society we live in. The underlying common thread is a sense of empathy to other humans in all activities and decisions implemented.
In my view, philanthropy can be viewed as a hierarchical progression from simple monetary donations at a basic level to commitment of individuals of just money to increasing contributions in terms of money, time, professional skills, strategic thinking and even succession planning to ensure durability of the mission undertaken beyond one’s lifetime.
Progression hierarchy of Philanthropy
- One can practice philanthropy by simply making a monetary gift. This indeed is the base level of Philanthropy. A planned donation (cash or kind) can normally be to a cause that you always believed in. It can also be a response to an emotional appeal and hence impulsive. In another dimension, it can be significantly large, focused but very selective. But it can also be much smaller monetarily but be widespread in terms of frequency and hence the ultimate societal impact. Essentially ‘my money my way’ defines this style of philanthropy. One good guiding principle, of course, is to be conscious of the administrative cost of delivering the intended benefits to the target audience and not support bureaucratic multi-layered schemes where the intended target audience ultimately gets only a fraction of the intended benefits .
- The next level of philanthropy is volunteering in ‘Active Funding Campaigns.’ In this, you leverage your network of family, friends and acquaintances, thereby essentially, monetizing your own influence and credibility in the society for a noble cause. This can either be sporadic or more regular at predetermined intervals (e.g. annual) too. Here the initiation of an individual as a volunteer often needs persuasion and convincing from the campaign leader. Of course, for the individual his personal time commitment during the campaign period can be significant too. While the final results have an element of uncertainty, significant success in the campaign can be morally edifying to the volunteers thereby spurring them to take up more such programmes.
- The next level is getting systematically involved in Service Philanthropy (part-time or full time but invariably pro-bono). This might also involve either using the individual’s expertise/specialized skills or even doing generic administrative work but very vital nonetheless for ensuring robustness and sustainability which are vital for the functioning of the philanthropic institution. The results will, of course, be more predictable in proportion to the effort compared to the earlier talked about active fund-raising campaigns. Also, for the individual the time commitment can tend to be significant and at times even a stretch.
- Joining and leading institutions to fulfil societal needs will be the next level in the progression which may be called Leadership Philanthropy. By simply becoming strategic leaders in the team, building financially self-sustaining institutions, becomes the prime objective. Often, there is no self interest in terms of remuneration, perks etc. After developing a well-defined vision/mission and strategy, providing all resources to the institutions including succession planning becomes the leadership goal. In short, embedding the corporate culture of accountability and goal orientation into the NGO’s DNA is the expected outcome.
- Finally, there is also the Entrepreneurship Philanthropy wherein startups come up with societal goals and remain not-for-profit as they scale up. These could be service providers to other bigger NGOs too – for example developing and providing the services of a crowdfunding platform to an NGO thereby aiding their campaign can be one such. These are of course expected to remain not-for-profit activities.
Contrasting the above with the classical Maslovian ‘Hierarchy of Human needs’ is interesting. For one, all the above forms of philanthropy are not necessarily hierarchical or mutually exclusive. The mindset of people encourages them to commit to and perform varying types of philanthropic activities simultaneously without losing sight of the end result. Also, all the above forms of philanthropy often address the growth (self-actualization as per Maslow) aspirations of the individuals and by indulging in them they get happiness and genuine satisfaction.
Finally, who will not like to put their time, talent and treasures to good use for society? Ultimately, this is what philanthropy is all about.
V. Srinivasan is a retired executive. Philanthropy, travel, investment management and blogging are his major areas of interest.
