Exploring the relationship between spiritual motivation and identification in the philanthropic practice, this issue brings scholars and practitioners together to debate, discuss, and examine a variety of findings from different viewpoints. Offering a selected sample of revised papers and presentations from the 14th annual symposium sponsored by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, this issue fosters a deeper understanding of philanthropic action based upon spiritual and religious beliefs. Contributors discuss faith--guided giving, parachurch organizations, the Native American experience of giving, the ethics of wealth, the role of faith--related organizations in community building, and the role faith can play in our professional calling and in our giving.
Table of Contents
Editor's Notes (Dwight F. Burlingame).1. Thinking about the why of giving (Claire L. Gaudiani) Why should we engage in philanthropy at all? To this crucial question, the author presents an "American answer" as well as answers from other cultures found in the "wisdom tradition" collected in sacred and civic texts.2. Faith and family philanthropy: Stories of giving from faith-guided family grant makers (Virginia M. Esposito, Joseph Foote) First-person stories from diverse family grant makers offer reflective answers to such questions as What does my religion teach about charity? How can faith-guided giving become a family enterprise? How can we support worthy but distinctly sectarian nonprofit organizations or causes? The answers to these questions are unique and singular to each family.3. The spiritual secret of wealth: The inner dynamics by which fortune engenders care (Paul G. Schervish, Mary A. O'Herlihy) Financial wherewithal can make possible a "positive trajectory" toward caring. A long-term study of 143 wealthy individuals reveals how financial security affects the ability to focus on others' needs, how unmerited advantage in one life can awaken empathy for unearned disadvantage in another, how the experience of fortune or blessing produces gratitude, and how these findings apply to fundraisers.4. Financing American religion (Mark Chaves) Religious-giving patterns are inextricably bound up with the whole set of practices that constitute a living religious tradition. Few, if any, nonfundamental, nontheological, noncultural, or noninstitutional ways exist to change giving patterns. These observations, along with an assessment of how charitable choice might affect congregations, explain why the near future holds no fundamental shift in the funding environment in which the vast majority of congregations operate.5. The irony of parachurch organizations: The case of Habitat for Humanity (Jerome P. Baggett) A significant and growing social form of religion is represented in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity that are grounded in religious values and seek to have public impact. The prominence of these organizations in providing social services, mobilizing people politically, and raising consciousness is an understudied area that merits attention.6. Walking softly across the dialogue of religion, spirituality, and the Native American experience of giving (Jo-Anne E. Stately) An annotated excerpt from President Andrew Jackson's 1830 address to Congress stating the case for the removal of Indians from east of the Mississippi to west of the Mississippi forms a springboard for extended commentary on Native American history, spirituality, and approaches to philanthropy.7. Developing faithful and generous donors: The ideals and the challenges (Thomas H. Jeavons, Rebekah Burch Basinger) Encouraging giving in specific ways and for good purposes can be a way to help people grow in faith. Similarly, nurturing people in their faith can be a way to increase their generosity. The authors focus on Christian organizations that have made these connections and re-envisioned their development programs as ministry.8. The dance of giving and receiving: Spirituality and the development officer, volunteer, and donor (Susan M. Pudelek) This personal account examines attitudes and "shadow beliefs" that have potent effects on the lives of development officers, among them the confusion of money itself with our distorted attachment to it. Mistakenly seeing money as the root of all evil, we stereotype the rich and are unable to see untold possibilities to make a difference in the world.Index.
