Napoleon Hill, the author of classic books on prosperity, said, “You give before you get.” Wealth gurus and spiritual guides profess that giving a portion of your wealth, typically 10%, leads to wealth and spiritual growth.
Give Before You Get
Years ago, I took a prosperity class at Unity Temple. As part of the exercise, I began giving 10% of my gross income to that church. It was challenging to begin this discipline. Later, after years of donating to various nonprofits, I realized that establishing endowments would provide enduring income to the organizations. Even though my income is certainly middle class, I realized that even I could do this. This led to a fun path of setting up endowments to honor people I admire and respect.
Creating Endowments
After deciding who to honor, if they are still living, I ask them where they want the donation to go. Then I contact the organization, and they send a development officer my way. Together with the honoree and the development officer, we hammer out the name of the endowment and the criteria that will govern it. I insist that the name of the honoree is part of the title of the endowment.
When I established a scholarship in honor of my university mentor, she thought long and hard about this to create a title that would look good on a student’s resume. Due to legal and regulatory requirements along with identifying the wishes of the honoree, this process usually takes about six months.
Recently I decided to set up an endowment in my own name. As a tree-lover, I chose the Arbor Day Foundation. Now when my time comes to go to the other side, my family can easily designate where to send donations “in lieu of flowers.”
During the years of setting up endowments, I have discovered benefits for myself. Few delights are greater than honoring someone in this way. It feels good. At the end of each month, I calculate my gross income and donate 10% of that total. This requires me to think of others first. It requires me to examine my values to identify organizations that I want to support. By setting up an endowment, the organization will have a firmer financial foundation while helping others in perpetuity.
One last point … research shows that people who are charitable live longer.
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