Rethinking Philanthropy III
An Idea That Becomes an Ideal
For continuity and stability, it will help to consider not just present projects and work, but more long term, even permanent categories of need. To focus interest and attention on such categories, endowments can be established for them. Recipients can best identify their own areas of need, while donors, for their part, will want to validate and confirm the need, and the capacity of recipients to responsibly do the work intended. When developed effectively, donor-recipient cooperation will become remarkably efficient.
“Service recipient” endowments. Practitioners in spiritual-cultural life often face the dilemma that for one reason or another, the client (e.g. a doctor’s patient) can't pay for their services. This may be known from the start, or happen once service is already underway. Financially and socially awkward as this may be for service providers, the effects of this on clients are even worse.
Society’s interest in helping is most often seen only in dollar terms. We tire of the poor or weak, and may come to feel burdensome. Conventional thinking tends to harden to an attitude “who cannot pay, must do without”, and assume the disadvantaged "brought it on themselves.'
It's quite true that life offers no guarantees ; that our errors and omissions have consequences ; that we're responsible for our own actions and lives. It's also true that adversity can be transformative, an awakening and motivating force that, mysteriously, calls forth the best in us. But the number of un- or under-educated children, sick persons inadequately treated, persons poor with almost no chance of betterment, is immense in our world today
The lost potential and contribution of one such person, the effects on the person him or herself, are easy to overlook ; but the loss of tens of millions of such persons, of hundreds of millions, the effect of this on our world, cannot be so easily ignored. Not least when, unguided or placed under enough stress, creative energies go awry, and turn towards violence and crime
It’s thus in society’s vital interest to nurture and protect human capacities, to be sure these assets aren't lost. This outlook is fruitful wherever it appears. It underlies the recovery model of mental health care. It also manifests wonderfully in the Camphill Village movement for persons with developmental disabilities, and the sheltered workshop movement in Europe (see example)
Such initiatives contribute to the health of all humanity, and this may extend even to their dollar cost. A professor of special education, a leader in her field, once had an interesting comment in this regard. She asked our class what they thought, in the long run, would be the least expensive way to care for children with special needs. After some awkward moments of silence, she answered her own question :
“The best possible care at the earliest possible moment”.
This is a thought to ponder, for its relevant in all areas of spiritual-cultural life. To support or recover the individual human being, that person’s potential, is not just noble or desirable in an abstract sense : it's "cost effective" too.
Practitioner training endowments (grants, scholarships). Those who work in spiritual-cultural life must be trained in their work – sometimes a long, expensive process. In recent years tuitions for education have increased steeply, while except in certain "desirable" categories, government grants and scholarships have declined. Loans for students have in the meantime been aggressively, even unscrupulously marketed, with the result that students begin their careers buried in debt. Alternatives are that students either postpone studies, or work as much as full time during them.
It makes more sense for students to begin their studies when they’re ready ; give full attention to them ; and afterwards contribute to society with the least possible encumbrance. The same is true for practitioners already in the field, in their continuing education needs.
For donors, it might seem a leap of faith to support students who may be young, untried as to character and work habits, and possibly not even suited for the chosen field of work. Aptitude testing, however, volunteer experiences, mentoring and internships in the chosen field can go far to address such concerns.
“Your name here” organizational endowments. In suggesting that those in spiritual-cultural life organize themselves into “corporations”, Rudolf Steiner recommended they take full responsibility for their own practical administration. This makes sense, as administrative decisions then proceed from the closest possible awareness of that work, of its real nature and needs. Not every practical task need be done by a practitioner of that particular spiritual-cultural work - by a teacher, doctor, research scientist, etc ; there is only a need for oversight and direction. Examples of this kind of work (which are also areas of expertise, and require competence) include :
- Office and clerical tasks
- Bookkeeping and finance
- Practical matters like maintenance and repairs
Work more related to the core tasks of the corporation - public outreach, program development, the hiring of teachers, doctors or nurses, researchers etc - require experience and expertise specific to those kinds of spiritual-cultural work. Fundraising is a special case. It requires a specific vocation for this kind of work, and a gift for communication ; yet it may fail if simply handed over to an "outside expert". To succeed, fundraising needs the authentic voice and close familiarity of someone who knows, and is actively doing the kind of work involved.
The clerical and support activities noted may be critical for the organization to function ; but the related costs - wages, salaries, supplies – present a problem, as no “fees for service” can be charged for them. But these expenses must be covered. How to accomplish this ?
As noted previously, donors may balk at supporting the operating expenses of an organization ; but this may in fact be needed, at least at times, and to some extent. Donors must of course prudently evaluate any request brought to them ; they must be able to justify what they do. But in this case justification is not to be found in "the bottom line", but in the larger social organism - in the benefits of spiritual cultural life to all of society.
In economic life as we’ve seen, wealth arises when skilled attention is applied to the materials of the earth - to how they're obtained, processed and worked with. The various steps by which “materials” become “products” enhance their value ; our ingenious machines and distribution systems permit mass production, and multiply these units of value. This chain of activities enables economic life to generate wealth.
Spiritual-cultural life multiplies benefit as well - only in in a different way, supplying what economic life cannot : knowledge, science, innovation, and the healthy, well prepared individuals of whom economic life has constant need. That economic life would give of its surplus what spiritual-cultural life lacks, and so chronically needs - namely, capital – is not just desirable, but fully possible.
These observations are important, as they build a bridge of thinking concerning spiritual-cultural life, between its pressing need for support, and the means for their fulfillment. Gifting of this kind is not only justified but a harmony : socially good, true - and even beautiful.
Personal Philanthropy
The ideas discussed can apply, once worked out practically, to the gifting activity of businesses and corporations, even the largest of them ; but this does not rule out personal philanthropy. One only hopes this can be done with maximum creativity. Needed is an attentive eye for the value of what those around us give, who work in the spiritual-cultural life ; and at the same time for their needs. This can result in gifts of money or resouces of any kind ; but also ones of recognition, in words of personal appreciation, active referrals to good products or services. "Upmanaging" and cheerleading of this kind is the least costly of philanthropies. Practiced consciously and regularly, it can be a form of "social artistry" all its own.
An Idea That Becomes an Ideal
Rudolf Steiner once stated that every idea which does not become an ideal in us, kills a force in our souls ; but that every idea which becomes an ideal, creates forces of life. What is an ideal ?
An ideal is an idea of which we feel, “This must become real - this must be established in the real world.” It's something we don’t just understand and feel, but follow through on with sustained action. Thus when the threefold social idea - and transformed philanthropy based in it - become ideals for us, they can infuse health not just into the life of society, but into ourselves as well - into our whole being.
Article by : Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next : Living Waters Resources : Rudolf Steiner's Threefold Social Idea
An Idea That Becomes an Ideal
For continuity and stability, it will help to consider not just present projects and work, but more long term, even permanent categories of need. To focus interest and attention on such categories, endowments can be established for them. Recipients can best identify their own areas of need, while donors, for their part, will want to validate and confirm the need, and the capacity of recipients to responsibly do the work intended. When developed effectively, donor-recipient cooperation will become remarkably efficient.
“Service recipient” endowments. Practitioners in spiritual-cultural life often face the dilemma that for one reason or another, the client (e.g. a doctor’s patient) can't pay for their services. This may be known from the start, or happen once service is already underway. Financially and socially awkward as this may be for service providers, the effects of this on clients are even worse.
Society’s interest in helping is most often seen only in dollar terms. We tire of the poor or weak, and may come to feel burdensome. Conventional thinking tends to harden to an attitude “who cannot pay, must do without”, and assume the disadvantaged "brought it on themselves.'
It's quite true that life offers no guarantees ; that our errors and omissions have consequences ; that we're responsible for our own actions and lives. It's also true that adversity can be transformative, an awakening and motivating force that, mysteriously, calls forth the best in us. But the number of un- or under-educated children, sick persons inadequately treated, persons poor with almost no chance of betterment, is immense in our world today
The lost potential and contribution of one such person, the effects on the person him or herself, are easy to overlook ; but the loss of tens of millions of such persons, of hundreds of millions, the effect of this on our world, cannot be so easily ignored. Not least when, unguided or placed under enough stress, creative energies go awry, and turn towards violence and crime
It’s thus in society’s vital interest to nurture and protect human capacities, to be sure these assets aren't lost. This outlook is fruitful wherever it appears. It underlies the recovery model of mental health care. It also manifests wonderfully in the Camphill Village movement for persons with developmental disabilities, and the sheltered workshop movement in Europe (see example)
Such initiatives contribute to the health of all humanity, and this may extend even to their dollar cost. A professor of special education, a leader in her field, once had an interesting comment in this regard. She asked our class what they thought, in the long run, would be the least expensive way to care for children with special needs. After some awkward moments of silence, she answered her own question :
“The best possible care at the earliest possible moment”.
This is a thought to ponder, for its relevant in all areas of spiritual-cultural life. To support or recover the individual human being, that person’s potential, is not just noble or desirable in an abstract sense : it's "cost effective" too.
Practitioner training endowments (grants, scholarships). Those who work in spiritual-cultural life must be trained in their work – sometimes a long, expensive process. In recent years tuitions for education have increased steeply, while except in certain "desirable" categories, government grants and scholarships have declined. Loans for students have in the meantime been aggressively, even unscrupulously marketed, with the result that students begin their careers buried in debt. Alternatives are that students either postpone studies, or work as much as full time during them.
It makes more sense for students to begin their studies when they’re ready ; give full attention to them ; and afterwards contribute to society with the least possible encumbrance. The same is true for practitioners already in the field, in their continuing education needs.
For donors, it might seem a leap of faith to support students who may be young, untried as to character and work habits, and possibly not even suited for the chosen field of work. Aptitude testing, however, volunteer experiences, mentoring and internships in the chosen field can go far to address such concerns.
“Your name here” organizational endowments. In suggesting that those in spiritual-cultural life organize themselves into “corporations”, Rudolf Steiner recommended they take full responsibility for their own practical administration. This makes sense, as administrative decisions then proceed from the closest possible awareness of that work, of its real nature and needs. Not every practical task need be done by a practitioner of that particular spiritual-cultural work - by a teacher, doctor, research scientist, etc ; there is only a need for oversight and direction. Examples of this kind of work (which are also areas of expertise, and require competence) include :
- Office and clerical tasks
- Bookkeeping and finance
- Practical matters like maintenance and repairs
Work more related to the core tasks of the corporation - public outreach, program development, the hiring of teachers, doctors or nurses, researchers etc - require experience and expertise specific to those kinds of spiritual-cultural work. Fundraising is a special case. It requires a specific vocation for this kind of work, and a gift for communication ; yet it may fail if simply handed over to an "outside expert". To succeed, fundraising needs the authentic voice and close familiarity of someone who knows, and is actively doing the kind of work involved.
The clerical and support activities noted may be critical for the organization to function ; but the related costs - wages, salaries, supplies – present a problem, as no “fees for service” can be charged for them. But these expenses must be covered. How to accomplish this ?
As noted previously, donors may balk at supporting the operating expenses of an organization ; but this may in fact be needed, at least at times, and to some extent. Donors must of course prudently evaluate any request brought to them ; they must be able to justify what they do. But in this case justification is not to be found in "the bottom line", but in the larger social organism - in the benefits of spiritual cultural life to all of society.
In economic life as we’ve seen, wealth arises when skilled attention is applied to the materials of the earth - to how they're obtained, processed and worked with. The various steps by which “materials” become “products” enhance their value ; our ingenious machines and distribution systems permit mass production, and multiply these units of value. This chain of activities enables economic life to generate wealth.
Spiritual-cultural life multiplies benefit as well - only in in a different way, supplying what economic life cannot : knowledge, science, innovation, and the healthy, well prepared individuals of whom economic life has constant need. That economic life would give of its surplus what spiritual-cultural life lacks, and so chronically needs - namely, capital – is not just desirable, but fully possible.
These observations are important, as they build a bridge of thinking concerning spiritual-cultural life, between its pressing need for support, and the means for their fulfillment. Gifting of this kind is not only justified but a harmony : socially good, true - and even beautiful.
Personal Philanthropy
The ideas discussed can apply, once worked out practically, to the gifting activity of businesses and corporations, even the largest of them ; but this does not rule out personal philanthropy. One only hopes this can be done with maximum creativity. Needed is an attentive eye for the value of what those around us give, who work in the spiritual-cultural life ; and at the same time for their needs. This can result in gifts of money or resouces of any kind ; but also ones of recognition, in words of personal appreciation, active referrals to good products or services. "Upmanaging" and cheerleading of this kind is the least costly of philanthropies. Practiced consciously and regularly, it can be a form of "social artistry" all its own.
An Idea That Becomes an Ideal
Rudolf Steiner once stated that every idea which does not become an ideal in us, kills a force in our souls ; but that every idea which becomes an ideal, creates forces of life. What is an ideal ?
An ideal is an idea of which we feel, “This must become real - this must be established in the real world.” It's something we don’t just understand and feel, but follow through on with sustained action. Thus when the threefold social idea - and transformed philanthropy based in it - become ideals for us, they can infuse health not just into the life of society, but into ourselves as well - into our whole being.
Article by : Jeff Smith RN (Retired)
Next : Living Waters Resources : Rudolf Steiner's Threefold Social Idea