The Obligation to Give

Even in colonial times, Americans formed groups of volunteers to address community needs. In some cases, those needs were collective, in other cases the need might be that of a single individual in need of temporary assistance. People, both communities and individuals, knew that in times of need, they could turn to these groups for help. More to the point, it was understood that the community was obligated to assist the needy.

On the other hand, never did communities or individuals confuse the obligation to give with the right to receive. In America, at least, that’s just the way things were. Giving was always a one-way street.

Alexis de Tocqueville, in his work, “Democracy in America,” offered an apt description of the creation and purpose of American nonprofits that is still fresh and relevant for our times. “Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations . . . to give entertainments, to found seminaries, to build inns, to construct churches, to diffuse books, to send missionaries to the antipodes. . . ”

Winter Coat Giveaway

The nature of nonprofits and the needs they fill have not much changed since the time of de Tocqueville. The Kars for Kids car donation program, for instance, distributes thousands of free winter coats to children who would otherwise be without warm winter clothing. This same charity also distributes back-to-school supplies to children from low income homes that would otherwise not have the basic means toward academic (and life) success. This is the perfect case of a nonprofit meeting the observed needs of a particular sector of society.

 Recent government cutbacks in funding to nonprofits, however, have made it hard for nonprofits to fulfill community and individual needs. Some nonprofits are beginning to speak out against this situation.

After all, governments have only one source of spending money: tax dollars, taken from individual Americans. Our taxes are the font from which nonprofit services flow. But when businesses are impeded by local government, tax receipts go down. In such a scenario, those who can’t make it through the month are the ones who lose out, because the economy isn’t healthy enough to support the nonprofits that would help them.

Health Equals Generosity

Back in 1630, the American colonists met a challenge. They sought to build a “city upon the hill,” where the residents would care for one another and in so doing, create a society in which responsibility for the community was a core value. They realized early on that a healthy economy was predicated on being wealthy enough to give generously. Those early colonists believed that in this endeavor, they honored their Creator, a belief we would do well to adopt.