LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00037
August 28, 2014
10:39
Nurs Admin Q Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 280–282 c 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Copyright
Nursing and Philanthropy Both About Giving and Joy Joseph V. Maloney, BA, CFRE
There is a surprising intersection between nursing and charitable giving, and it is not about the money. Some nurses I know would find that statement to be a bit off-kilter. Maybe a few of them would find it even a bit off-putting. But there is, indeed, a strong case to be made that the two are of the same cloth. Key words: caring, charity, giving, philanthropy
L
ET’S BEGIN by bringing clarity to our vocabulary beginning with the oftenmisapplied word “philanthropy.” It means, literally, and as most of us know, “love for mankind.” (Note that it does not say “love of mankind.”) It is a simple concept yet one of vast scope and implication. A quick sprint through history informs us that the earliest use of the word appears in the writings of the fifth-century Greek playwright Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound. He used the adjective philanthropos tropos to describe Prometheus’ character as “humanity loving.” Aeschylus told the story of Prometheus as he taught a tribe of uncivilized brutes the value of improving the human condition. Thus, believed the ancient Greeks, humans became distinguished from all other animals through civilization and the power to complete our own creation through good works benefiting others. Philanthrˆ op´ıa—loving humanity—was considered to be the essence of civilization
Author Affiliation: Catholic Health Initiatives Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The author declares no conflict of interest. Correspondence: Joseph V. Maloney, BA, CFRE, Catholic Health Initiatives Foundation, 6385 Corporate Dr, Ste 301, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (jaymaloney @catholichealth.net). DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000052
prior to the fall of Rome. During the medieval era, philanthrˆ op´ıa was superseded by the Christian concept of caritas (“charity”), or selfless love. Caritas was understood to be a virtue valued for salvation. In the 19th century, the concept of “philanthropy” was stretched into a number of meanings and degrees of importance. It became generalized shorthand for “doing good.” The concept of charity also shifted, becoming more narrowly defined as a particular expression of philanthropy that centered on giving alms to the needy. In the late 20th century, the term of “philanthropy” got shunted onto an even smaller siding where it became associated primarily with its most conspicuous manifestations, charitable giving of money, and fund-raising. Tax laws attached themselves to charitable giving, and thus were born charitable foundations, charitable deductions, and the popular understanding of philanthropy degenerated in the eyes of many as being merely some sort of transactional process to reduce tax obligations. We got lost, and with that, the idea of philanthropy got lost too. So let’s now revisit the idea of philanthropy within the context of its classical meanings. This is not meant to engage us in an exercise in hollow rhetoric but to understand how the idea of philanthropy is deeply important to the way we apprehend our world, to the way
280 Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00037
August 28, 2014
10:39
Nursing and Philanthropy we understand our individual roles within it, and about the choices we make on how to conduct ourselves. Think back to the days when you first sensed or knew that nursing was a calling, when you understood that nursing would give meaning to your finite journey on this Earth. The animating force behind that virtuous calling was philanthropy in its classical sense. It is the same virtue (the very same one) that animates other men and women to take charitable action with their own gifts. It is understood as a virtue because philanthropy is choice, an act of volition. Before we go on to link nursing with its cousin, charitable giving, I need to digress for a moment about my own calling as a professional fund-raiser. At the highest level of my work, I know in my heart and head that the end use of the funds I raise (for such important things as new medical equipment, new methods of delivering care, etc) is not the only good thing that comes out of my work. In fact, I believe that those things and items may not even be the primary good thing. As the Greeks believed, and as do most of us to this day, there is a spark inside every human being that separates us from all of the other creatures on this Earth. To some degree or another, every human culture that has ever existed has been aware of that spark. This spark, this whatever-it-is that separates us from Earth’s other creatures, is not merely consciousness or sentience, for other creatures are sentient and aware. It is not merely intellect, for there are other intelligent creatures. And it is certainly not merely instinct. For want of a better word, let’s refer to this spark as it has been called for millennia: The Soul. At the risk of really mixing metaphors, let’s assume (“have faith”) that the human soul is not simply cultural software that our elders installed into our little-kid brains. Let’s assume that The Soul is hardwired into our being. In my professional experience, over the many years that I have been doing this, I have witnessed noticeable evidence of that hardwiring. I have observed that any act of volitional giving always provides joy to the giver
281
in deep and moving ways. In fact, the act of giving seems to enrich the giver far more than any act of receiving enriches the taker. The healing touch given by a nurse is somewhat different from the procedure he or she administered. The healing touch, however you define it and however it is given, is a volitional gift. The procedure that is given and the healing touch that is given can take place simultaneously, but the nurse and the patient know which was which. You can see that we have defined philanthropy—“giving”—in its most classical sense here. With regard to raising money, we now see that the financial element of “giving” is not the only thing that happens. Within this classical understanding of philanthropy, we can see that volitional giving also includes such simple acts as opening a door for a stranger . . . or letting another driver merge into your lane when the highway is bumper to bumper . . . or simply saying thank you to the waiter who just delivered your dinner. Absolutely then, and without a doubt, the human touch, and the kindness, given by a nurse to a sick, injured, or dying person is an enormous, in fact profound, act of giving. It is philanthropy at its most generous state. Although giving is probably hardwired into each of us, I believe that giving does not necessarily come naturally to us. In many cases, I think that the act of giving actually calls for the purposeful overriding of our more base instincts. There are moments in your work when your instincts wanted you to recoil from certain things. As one famous story about Mother Teresa goes, she was cleaning the wounds of a leper while a Western news reporter was looking on. The reporter is to have said, “Sister, I don’t think I would do that for a million dollars.” Replied Mother Teresa, “Neither would I.” The act of giving, whatever it may be that is being given, is something that requires some reflection and contemplation on the part of the giver. And it is here where your calling as a nurse begins to mesh with the calling to give that rests in the hearts of people we have come to call donors or philanthropists.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
282
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10:39
NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
From my end of it, as a professional fundraiser, the most rewarding element of my work is each time I help one of our fellow human beings to make a purposeful, reflective choice to give. I know in my heart that the person who gives has become a healthier and more whole human being as a result. It is a thing that leaves me humbled and joyful. So if you are ever given the chance to join one of your development officers on a visit with a prospective donor, think about philanthropy at its highest level. Think about the many times when a patient looked at you and said “Thank you,” and how at a deep level of your spirit, you wanted to say, “No. Thank you!” In making those visits with your organization’s fund-raiser, tell your story of why you
chose nursing. Talk with that other philanthropist, that soul who is sitting across from you or next to you, about the impact of your work on the lives of others. You are not begging or engaging in an act of taking. You are inviting an act of giving. All forms of giving, especially if they are exceptional in their generosity, are acts that give the giver something far, far more valuable than whatever it was that was given. Giving is a private choice of conscience, a state of philanthropy of which we are privileged to become a part. It is a good thing that that the gift given allows good organizations to continue doing the good works. But those things are, in my opinion, the collateral, secondary good. The primary good is the philanthropic act itself, and your healing work as a nurse is profoundly philanthropic.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
NAQ-D-14-00037
August 28, 2014
10:39
Nurs Admin Q Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 280–282 c 2014 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Copyright
Nursing and Philanthropy Both About Giving and Joy Joseph V. Maloney, BA, CFRE
There is a surprising intersection between nursing and charitable giving, and it is not about the money. Some nurses I know would find that statement to be a bit off-kilter. Maybe a few of them would find it even a bit off-putting. But there is, indeed, a strong case to be made that the two are of the same cloth. Key words: caring, charity, giving, philanthropy
L
ET’S BEGIN by bringing clarity to our vocabulary beginning with the oftenmisapplied word “philanthropy.” It means, literally, and as most of us know, “love for mankind.” (Note that it does not say “love of mankind.”) It is a simple concept yet one of vast scope and implication. A quick sprint through history informs us that the earliest use of the word appears in the writings of the fifth-century Greek playwright Aeschylus in Prometheus Bound. He used the adjective philanthropos tropos to describe Prometheus’ character as “humanity loving.” Aeschylus told the story of Prometheus as he taught a tribe of uncivilized brutes the value of improving the human condition. Thus, believed the ancient Greeks, humans became distinguished from all other animals through civilization and the power to complete our own creation through good works benefiting others. Philanthrˆ op´ıa—loving humanity—was considered to be the essence of civilization
Author Affiliation: Catholic Health Initiatives Foundation, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The author declares no conflict of interest. Correspondence: Joseph V. Maloney, BA, CFRE, Catholic Health Initiatives Foundation, 6385 Corporate Dr, Ste 301, Colorado Springs, CO 80919 (jaymaloney @catholichealth.net). DOI: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000052
prior to the fall of Rome. During the medieval era, philanthrˆ op´ıa was superseded by the Christian concept of caritas (“charity”), or selfless love. Caritas was understood to be a virtue valued for salvation. In the 19th century, the concept of “philanthropy” was stretched into a number of meanings and degrees of importance. It became generalized shorthand for “doing good.” The concept of charity also shifted, becoming more narrowly defined as a particular expression of philanthropy that centered on giving alms to the needy. In the late 20th century, the term of “philanthropy” got shunted onto an even smaller siding where it became associated primarily with its most conspicuous manifestations, charitable giving of money, and fund-raising. Tax laws attached themselves to charitable giving, and thus were born charitable foundations, charitable deductions, and the popular understanding of philanthropy degenerated in the eyes of many as being merely some sort of transactional process to reduce tax obligations. We got lost, and with that, the idea of philanthropy got lost too. So let’s now revisit the idea of philanthropy within the context of its classical meanings. This is not meant to engage us in an exercise in hollow rhetoric but to understand how the idea of philanthropy is deeply important to the way we apprehend our world, to the way
280 Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
NAQ-D-14-00037
August 28, 2014
10:39
Nursing and Philanthropy we understand our individual roles within it, and about the choices we make on how to conduct ourselves. Think back to the days when you first sensed or knew that nursing was a calling, when you understood that nursing would give meaning to your finite journey on this Earth. The animating force behind that virtuous calling was philanthropy in its classical sense. It is the same virtue (the very same one) that animates other men and women to take charitable action with their own gifts. It is understood as a virtue because philanthropy is choice, an act of volition. Before we go on to link nursing with its cousin, charitable giving, I need to digress for a moment about my own calling as a professional fund-raiser. At the highest level of my work, I know in my heart and head that the end use of the funds I raise (for such important things as new medical equipment, new methods of delivering care, etc) is not the only good thing that comes out of my work. In fact, I believe that those things and items may not even be the primary good thing. As the Greeks believed, and as do most of us to this day, there is a spark inside every human being that separates us from all of the other creatures on this Earth. To some degree or another, every human culture that has ever existed has been aware of that spark. This spark, this whatever-it-is that separates us from Earth’s other creatures, is not merely consciousness or sentience, for other creatures are sentient and aware. It is not merely intellect, for there are other intelligent creatures. And it is certainly not merely instinct. For want of a better word, let’s refer to this spark as it has been called for millennia: The Soul. At the risk of really mixing metaphors, let’s assume (“have faith”) that the human soul is not simply cultural software that our elders installed into our little-kid brains. Let’s assume that The Soul is hardwired into our being. In my professional experience, over the many years that I have been doing this, I have witnessed noticeable evidence of that hardwiring. I have observed that any act of volitional giving always provides joy to the giver
281
in deep and moving ways. In fact, the act of giving seems to enrich the giver far more than any act of receiving enriches the taker. The healing touch given by a nurse is somewhat different from the procedure he or she administered. The healing touch, however you define it and however it is given, is a volitional gift. The procedure that is given and the healing touch that is given can take place simultaneously, but the nurse and the patient know which was which. You can see that we have defined philanthropy—“giving”—in its most classical sense here. With regard to raising money, we now see that the financial element of “giving” is not the only thing that happens. Within this classical understanding of philanthropy, we can see that volitional giving also includes such simple acts as opening a door for a stranger . . . or letting another driver merge into your lane when the highway is bumper to bumper . . . or simply saying thank you to the waiter who just delivered your dinner. Absolutely then, and without a doubt, the human touch, and the kindness, given by a nurse to a sick, injured, or dying person is an enormous, in fact profound, act of giving. It is philanthropy at its most generous state. Although giving is probably hardwired into each of us, I believe that giving does not necessarily come naturally to us. In many cases, I think that the act of giving actually calls for the purposeful overriding of our more base instincts. There are moments in your work when your instincts wanted you to recoil from certain things. As one famous story about Mother Teresa goes, she was cleaning the wounds of a leper while a Western news reporter was looking on. The reporter is to have said, “Sister, I don’t think I would do that for a million dollars.” Replied Mother Teresa, “Neither would I.” The act of giving, whatever it may be that is being given, is something that requires some reflection and contemplation on the part of the giver. And it is here where your calling as a nurse begins to mesh with the calling to give that rests in the hearts of people we have come to call donors or philanthropists.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
LWW/NAQ
282
NAQ-D-14-00037
August 28, 2014
10:39
NURSING ADMINISTRATION QUARTERLY/OCTOBER–DECEMBER 2014
From my end of it, as a professional fundraiser, the most rewarding element of my work is each time I help one of our fellow human beings to make a purposeful, reflective choice to give. I know in my heart that the person who gives has become a healthier and more whole human being as a result. It is a thing that leaves me humbled and joyful. So if you are ever given the chance to join one of your development officers on a visit with a prospective donor, think about philanthropy at its highest level. Think about the many times when a patient looked at you and said “Thank you,” and how at a deep level of your spirit, you wanted to say, “No. Thank you!” In making those visits with your organization’s fund-raiser, tell your story of why you
chose nursing. Talk with that other philanthropist, that soul who is sitting across from you or next to you, about the impact of your work on the lives of others. You are not begging or engaging in an act of taking. You are inviting an act of giving. All forms of giving, especially if they are exceptional in their generosity, are acts that give the giver something far, far more valuable than whatever it was that was given. Giving is a private choice of conscience, a state of philanthropy of which we are privileged to become a part. It is a good thing that that the gift given allows good organizations to continue doing the good works. But those things are, in my opinion, the collateral, secondary good. The primary good is the philanthropic act itself, and your healing work as a nurse is profoundly philanthropic.
Copyright © 2014 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
