Psychology of Giving

This past Sunday there was a featured article in the Tennessean about a "tent community" outside of Nashville in nearby Wilson County. Not exactly homeless people, but people living in tents and/or RV's on a campground (in which they do pay rent) instead of a house or apartment. They have community showers/bathrooms. Most are here because of lost jobs and houses due to the current economy. Today, there was a follow-up article on the outpouring of assistance that residents of this encampment, particularly the ones featured in the article, have received in the past 48 hours.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090714/NEWS01/907140355/Campground+residents++struggles+hit+home+with+readers

I used to work for a program that was often given positive press, which is always great because you definitely get a spike in donations and general community awareness of your cause. What always bothered me though, is that people were really insistent that they wanted to help the family that was featured in the article. We would get a few "general" donations of cash or material items, but most wanted to give specifically to the family. They'd call and ask for the kids' clothing sizes, donate Kroger cards, and many times write personal checks-made for hundreds or even thousands of dollars-directly to our client. They'd often include personal notes about how the story touched them in some way and they just felt like they needed to give. The good fortune of our agency choosing a family for the focus of an article literally could bring them more cash in a week than they'd make on their own in months. And the other hundreds of families we served, each as needy, each of their stories just as heartbreaking/inspiring, didn't get the same attention as they anonymously went about their lives, trying to make ends meet. At a point, I'd be instructed to try and gently steer people away from direct donations to a particular family and mention the many other families we could assist if a general contribution was made. I had people tell me that if they couldn't donate to the "featured" family directly, they wouldn't make a donation at all, despite being told that the family's current needs were all met but there were others they could help instead. What kind of logic is that? Because you don't have a visual of any of these other families, they are easy to ignore, but the one that you see that is in need you feel compelled to assist? Why we choose to give, and who we choose to give to, is fascinating to me.

It seems, based on this follow-up article today, that some of the same "psychology of giving" has affected this situation too. The article actually mentions someone that brought a photo from the paper of one of the residents in order to identify him and offer him employment. I mean, ultimately, that is good news, the guy may get a job, but for the residents of this community who weren't named and photographed for the article, will anyone reach out to them and offer employment to all? Now-I will note-the article does also mention donations of food, clothing, etc. that were made in general. But there were folks who offered to take one woman in particular to the store, doctor's appointments, etc due to her health problems. If another resident asks these same donors for a ride, will they agree to help?

I don't have a lot of money, but I'm the kind of person who thinks "every little bit helps" and you never know what your gift may mean to the person you are helping. How many of us have a friend or neighbor who might need a simple kindness every once in a while? Would it take an article in the Tennessean for us to feel bad enough about it to make an offer to give someone a ride, or offer to pick up extra groceries at the store? What a great reminder that not everyone in need will have a "help me" sign attached or be featured in the newspaper. Why not just offer help when you can give it, donate money or goods when you can, even if you don't have a photo you can look back on to say "look who I helped." Just because you can't see those who your donations or volunteer hours help doesn't make your assistance any less appreciated-or important.