Wendy Smith: GIVE A LITTLE

Posted by admin on 04.06.2010 at 9:30 am

In today’s post, guest blogger and author Wendy Smith talks about how important giving is, especially at the smallest levels.  She explains that it’s the power we have as a group that can really make a difference.

I heard a story today about a wealthy man who gave $50,000 and a house to a penniless man who’d had a stroke and nowhere to live. Stories of philanthropic largess like this one are abundant; in fact, big donations, particularly those made by celebrities, get nearly all the press.  There is a myth in the U.S. that the majority of charitable giving comes from foundations, corporations, and wealthy celebs.  The truth is that 75% of all donations made to nonprofits every year come from individuals, most of them living in households with less than $200,000 in annual income.

My book, Give a Little: How Your Small Donations Can Transform Our World, describes the cumulative magnitude and power of the affordable donations made by everyday citizens. In 2008, their giving amounted to $228 BILLION.  That is more than the gross national incomes of 75% of the world’s nations!  The book shows the rippling effects of every affordable donation as it changes the life of an individual child, strengthens a family, shores up a community and reinforces peace within an entire nation.

My experience working in the nonprofit sector for 20+ years combined with my research while writing Give a Little proves that the citizen philanthropist is a crucial and undervalued part of the solution to the inhumanity of extreme poverty. Better World Books is an outstanding example of the cumulative power of individuals contributing to a valuable cause.  $7.7 MILLION dollars raised to improve literacy around the world – one person, one book, one purchase, one donation at a time.  It works.

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