Читать книгу Achieving Excellence in Fundraising - Группа авторов - Страница 114

This chapter covers voluntary giving behaviors like volunteering for nonprofits, giving money, and giving support to loved ones. Involuntary giving such as that required by schools, parents, or courts is unlikely to have the same benefits. In addition, caregiving is a more extreme form of giving that is often less voluntary, more intensive, and can include seeing loved ones in pain or distress. Some research finds that caregiving is associated with poorer well‐being and health outcomes. Yet, other research finds that the helping itself can be beneficial, especially with enough support, even though seeing loved ones in distress can be harmful. However, this complex type of giving goes beyond the scope of this review.

When it comes to other types of giving, it is possible for people to give beyond their means. For example, studies have found that volunteering between 1 and 15 hours per week is associated with optimal health and well‐being. However, joyful givers may well know their limits.

As for charitable giving, one recent study found that Americans who donated 10 percent of their incomes were happier than those who donated less. The authors used 10 percent as a cutoff point since some religions encourage tithing, however, they did not explore whether there was a point at which giving was no longer beneficial. This could be because it was highly unusual for people to give 10 percent away – only 2.7 percent of participants did so. Another study found that the more money people gave, the higher their psychological well‐being, and the authors did not find any cutoff point after which there were fewer benefits of giving. In fact, spending money on others is associated with increased well‐being even in lower‐income countries. However, it is reasonable to assume that at a certain point, donating to charity might be bad for well‐being, especially if people give to the point that they cannot take care of their own needs. Still, such over‐giving is rare, and the more common problem is under‐giving.

In general, it seems wise to give from one's surplus resources. For example, it might be better for lower income people to give their time than their money, since volunteering predicts more happiness in lower income people compared to higher income people.

Finally, when it comes to everyday kindness, the more people give, and the more they make giving part of the practice of their everyday life, the more joy they experience from giving. For example, performing nine acts of kindness per week leads to more happiness than performing three acts per week. Future research should try to better understand potential limits of giving for well‐being and health.