All walks of life understands the need
to be helped & to help others. Giving Center shares the same compassion with families, individuals, & communities during trying times.
You too can contribute in our mission to change lives.
You too can contribute in our mission to change lives.
Or call toll-free anytime:
888-228-7320
~ Helping others takes countless forms, from giving money to charities, helping a stranger pull his car out of a ditch, maybe from deep-rooted empathy, or even to a more calculated desire for public recognition. Social scientists have identified a host
of ways in which charitable behavior can lead to benefits for the giver, whether economically via
tax breaks, socially via signaling one’s wealth
or status, or psychologically via
experiencing well-being from helping others.
~ Happier people give more & giving makes people happier, such that
happiness & giving may operate in a positive feedback loop: With happier people giving more,
getting happier, & giving even more.
More reasons to consider giving to charity :
• A sense of purpose & improved well-being
Giving can enlarge your world while transforming you into a more valuable part of the community. Whether you are giving out of a sense of connectedness, spiritual reasons, or for political reasons, taking positive action to solve problems can be eminently fulfilling.
~ Giving to others can promote improvements in physical health, self-esteem & mental health.
• Society benefits
“Nearly 20% of donors nationwide say that the most important reason they donated was to help people meet basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing & heat”.
17% of donors said, “making the world a better place” motivated them, according to Philanthropy Matters, which is a publication of the Center on Philanthropy.
• Promotes cooperation & social connection
When you give, you are more likely to get back: Several studies have suggested that when you give to others, your generosity is likely to be rewarded by others down the line—sometimes by the person you gave to, and sometimes by someone else. These exchanges promote a sense of trust & cooperation that strengthens our ties to others; research has shown that having positive social interactions is central to good mental & physical health.
• Evokes gratitude
Whether you are on the giving or the receiving end of a gift, that gift can elicit feelings of gratitude; it can be a way of expressing gratitude or instilling gratitude in the recipient. Research has found that gratitude is in fact integral to happiness, health, & social bonds.
• It's delightfully contagious
Multiple studies have shown that when just one person behaves generously, it inspires observers to behave generously later, towards different people. In fact, the researchers found that altruism could spread by three degrees—from person, to person, to person, to person. “As a result,” they write, “each person in a network can influence dozens, or even 100's of people, some of whom he/she does not know & has not met.”
Giving has also been linked to the release of oxytocin, which is a hormone (also released during sex & breast feeding) that induces feelings of warmth, euphoria, & a connection to others. Claremont Graduate University studies found that a dose of oxytocin will actually cause people to give more generously & to feel more empathy towards others, with these “symptoms” lasting up to 2 hours. Those people on an “oxytocin high” can potentially jump-start a “virtuous circle, where one person’s generous behavior triggers another’s,”. So whether you buy gifts, volunteer your time, or you donate money to charity, your giving is much more than just a year-end task. It may help you build stronger social connections, & even jump-start a cascade of generosity throughout your community. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself benefiting from a large dose of happiness in the process!
The 2010 Do Good Live Well Survey of 4,500 American adults found that 41% of Americans volunteered an average of 100 hours per year.
Of those people who volunteered, 68% reported that it made them feel physically healthier; 89% reported that it “has improved my sense of well-being” (happiness) & 73% reported that it lowered stress levels.
So how does giving make us happier?
Research published in the International Journal of Happiness & Development investigated how social connection helps turn generous behavior into positive feelings on the part of the donor. Researchers wanted to examine when the emotional benefits of giving to charity become manifested. They carried out 3 studies of charitable donations, or more precisely pro-social spending, & found that spending money on others, or giving money to charities leads to the greatest happiness boost when giving fosters a social connection.
- The research findings also complement earlier research that has demonstrated a positive effect on happiness of social interactions & taking part in voluntary work. “While additional factors other than social connections likely influence the happiness gained from pro-social spending, our findings suggest that putting the social in pro-social is one way to transform good deeds into good feelings,” is the team's conclusion.
~ There’s something inexplicably satisfying in witnessing people unwrap a gift & respond with unadulterated amazement, joy & happiness. You have made them smile, & that is worth far more than money or any material item. Simultaneously, we find great satisfaction in giving back to the world around us. Many of us are far more privileged than others, & when we become aware of that, we often experience an innate desire to help the less fortunate. After all, we cannot move forward as a species when such a significant number of people are left suffering aside in the shadows.
"We make a living by what we get.
We make a life by what we give."
~ Indeed, it is through giving that we enrich & perpetuate both our own lives & also the lives of others. Research shows that giving makes us far happier than receiving. Thus, in a way, we are actually being both selfish, but also selfless by giving to others. Numerous studies have proven that giving money to others, or to charities, will put a much bigger smile on your face than spending on yourself.
Simply put, enriching the lives of others
makes us all wealthier.
Giving to others might take money out of your wallet, but it could mean the difference between life & death for some people...You never know how far a dollar might go for someone in need.
Remember, a tiny stone can create a massive ripple when thrown into water at the right moment.
There is widespread evidence that we could all give much more than we choose to...
But don’t just give because it feels good,
make sure that your generosity actually has an impact.
"Generosity makes us human, & keeps life going. Humans are an inherently social species, we have survived & thrived because we take care of one another."
"Generosity is, in part, a survival instinct. Even the simple act of sharing food or shelter with another person is an example of humanity’s intrinsic generosity. If we were an overwhelmingly selfish species, we would’ve gone extinct a long time ago."
"By giving to one another, we have prolonged the survival of the human community. ...We still have room for improvement, of course."
"Poverty is the worst form of violence";
"Impoverishment not only robs people of their dignity, it threatens their very existence. It can also lead to political & social unrest...even war."
The Internet is a very powerful entity, & it can be used to ensure that charitable donations end up where they will be most effective. Hence, don’t just give because it’s satisfying, be smart & do a bit of research beforehand.
~ Where we are born in the world is a matter of chance. We can’t choose where we are born, but we can choose to use our privilege to assist others. Perhaps the reason it feels so good to give is that we know, deep down, that even a single individual can make changes in the world...All it takes is one small act of kindness.
Charity also lowers the stress hormones that cause unhappiness.
Studies have shown that giving actually lowers your levels of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, & norepinephrine in their brains dramatically. The bottom line from all the research on giving, is that it is not just beneficial for your favorite cause; it's good for you as well. For relief from stress & depression, it's probably even more cost-effective than whatever your doctor might prescribe you. For getting a little "high", it is not illegal, & it's a lot less fattening than booze. So, go ahead & make a new year's resolution to be more cheerful, & then help ensure that you meet that resolution with a charitable investment today.
It is a fact that givers are happier
people than non-givers.
People who gave money to charity in 2000 were 43% more likely than non-givers to say they were "very happy" about their lives, according to a survey given by the SCCB of 30,000 American households.
Similarly, volunteers were 42% more likely to be very happy than non-volunteers. It didn't matter whether gifts of money and time went to churches or symphony orchestras — givers to all types of religious & secular causes were far happier than non-givers.
People who give are less sad
and/or depressed than non-givers.
A number of studies have researched exactly why charity leads to happiness. The surprising conclusion is that giving affects our brain chemistry. For example, people who give often report feelings of euphoria, which psychologists have referred to as the "Helper's High." They believe that charitable activity induces endorphins that produce a very mild version of the sensations people get from drugs like morphine or heroin.
It is not having lots of money
that makes us happy -
it is spending it on others,
as research has proved.
The staff at University of British Columbia research found that those that received bonuses and spent some of the extra money on others were happier than those who spent their bonuses on themselves. A UK psychologist said such charitable giving improved how people saw themselves - & also how others saw them.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn", said Professor Dunn. "Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not."
The team then assessed the happiness of 16 employees at a firm in Boston, both before & after they received their profit-sharing bonus, which ranged between $3,000 & $8,000. It appeared that it was not the size of the bonus that mattered, but what the employees spent it on. Those who gave more of their bonus as gifts to others, or to charity, consistently reported greater benefits than the employees who simply spent the money on their own needs.
In another experiment, the researchers gave 46 people $5 or $20, asking them to spend the money by 5:00 that afternoon. Half of the participants were instructed to spend the money on themselves, & the other half were assigned to spend the money on others. 'Seen as altruist' those who spent the cash on others reported feeling happier at the end of the day than those who spent the money on themselves, no matter how much they had been given. Dr. Dunn said: "This study provides initial evidence that how people spend their money may be as important for their happiness as how much money they earn.
Start giving: New research shows you will be happier for it. Americans who describe themselves as “very happy” volunteer an average of 5.8 hours per month. Those who are “unhappy”? Just 0.6 hours. Researchers surveyed 2,000 individuals over a 5 year period. They interviewed and tracked the spending habits and lifestyles of 40 families from different classes and races in 12 states, even accompanying some to the grocery store. Other findings include lower depression rates among Americans who donate more than 10 percent of their incomes (41 percent say they rarely or never experience depression versus 32 percent for everyone else.) And giving away money isn’t the only way to reap the psychological rewards of generosity: Americans who are very giving in relationships—being emotionally available and hospitable—are much more likely to be in excellent health (48 percent) than those who are not (31 percent).
Giving stimulates the happy chemical in your brain and creates a ripple effect.
Just like when giving hugs or having chocolates, the hormone oxytocin likes to show up when you give. It induces a feeling of warmth, satisfaction, a heightened sense of connection towards others & even euphoria. According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, when a person behaves generously, the observers had a higher tendency to mimic this behavior later towards other people. It doesn't just stop there; they found that generosity could spread by three degrees, meaning each person in a network can potentially start a chain reaction that affects dozens or even hundreds of people.
-Giving brings about a feeling of abundance-
When you give generously, you start encouraging an abundance mindset that allows you to give & receive freely. The opposite of this would be the scarcity mindset where you believe there are a lot of limits & you start to form resistance towards the idea of giving or sharing. This is when hoarding & clinging to something happens, when you believe that resources are limited. You may wonder that if you really do not have enough money or belongings to give, how is it possible to give it away? Here, you must also realize that giving does not mean only material goods but also your time & abilities. Giving up your weekends for a good cause would be a great way to give back, make you feel grateful for what you have, create a sense of abundance, & in the end leave you a much happier person.
The generosity of your charitable donation to our charity benefits individuals, families in need, and charitable causes across the United States.
We thank you for your
kind consideration ~
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