A new perspective on giving

Today is a day where I'm just writing what's on my mind…you've been warned.

This morning I'm working on finish our giving for the year. BK and I are not good about giving throughout the year, so we usually end up assessing things at the end of the year and giving then. That's okay though, it works for us right now. As the family CFO, it's my job to look at what we've done thus far and propose what else we should do.

People give for many reasons, and no one reason is better than another. For me, it's been an interesting year that has given me a different perspective on giving. For the first time since graduating from college I am not working in the field of social work, which has been really different for me. Early in my career, I was bringing home a very measly paycheck and considered the fact that I worked for what I did my way of giving back. Then after a few years passed, I would want to give to whatever cause I was working for, usually giving BK a hard time that he should be more bought into this or that, just wanting him to find something.

I found that for the first time this year, I was able to objectively step back and look at what really mattered to me. I know I keep mentioning myself, but BK has his own reasons for giving to what he likes as well- you can ask him if you want his perspective. For me, I discovered that it was really important to give to organizations that had impacted my life and that I view as helping make me into who I am today. There's also a component of me wanting these organizations to be around far into the future so they can continue to have a positive influence on generations to come.

This hit me when I was listening to someone from one of the organizations speak about why people should give. He said he wasn't going to try to convince us about why we should give, but that we knew what this organization did and the impact it had on both individuals and the community, so if we felt called to give we should, and if not…the organization would still be here doing what it does. I'm not sure why this spoke to me, but it did, and he was right, I did know firsthand what this organization has done and will continue to do.

BK and I both realize we've both been extremely fortunate- not only in our life together, but also over the entirety of our lives, always being (more than) provided for, having loving families surrounding us and being able to experience things many people only dream about (just to mention a few). Considering this, we should give back. It's the absolute least we can do. Time, talent and treasure- these are things that organizations typically need from people. If you can't give one, try to give another. We're not so good at the time right now, but I'm sure this will change too as the years go by.

You may be wondering who we give to. That's not important and you're missing the point. I would just encourage you to think about what matters to you and go from there. You'll figure it out. It took me a while, but I feel like I finally have…at least for now.