Choosing a socially responsible lifestyle

Dame Stephanie Shirley has donated over £50m to various pioneering and strategic projects in IT (her professional discipline) and autism (her late son’s disorder).

Materialists believe that the only things that matter are those we can verify with our own senses.  The main goals in life are correspondingly wealth and power since the more abstract goals are too difficult to measure.  As a self-made millionaire I know that economic sustenance is important – but not all-important.  Social responsibility demands that we develop a spiritual dimension to life.

To find the underlying motivation for philanthropy, you have to dig deep.  The passing years bring a sense of urgency to complete life’s goals, to set aside surplus funds to relieve suffering beyond one’s immediate circle, to move from success to the significance that can be found in the service of others.  Then money transmutes from figures on a sheet of paper to something meaningful.  Giving is a private expression of personal beliefs as well as fulfilling community needs.   So perhaps the motives hardly matter.  The fact is that people give and it’s the birthright and defining characteristic of the human species.

Although I do sometimes give anonymously – just as I occasionally work anonymously – I believe that philanthropy needs to be proactive, ambitious and focussed on results.  It’s not a business but needs to be business-like.   My aim is always to be professional, to be efficient and to be effective. But the main thing is that I’m having a load of fun!  I meet more interesting people, travel purposefully to more interesting places and feel more fulfilled as a social entrepreneur than I ever did in the years spent making money.

Giving is a lifestyle and is not altruistic at all, since you get so much in return.  A large bank balance is all very nice, but like the 16th century philosopher Francis Bacon, I believe that “money is like muck, not good except it be spread”.  Even Bill Gates seeks to be remembered for his philanthropy rather than his riches.

Philanthropy certainly pays. The more money I give away, the richer my life seems to become.   Philanthropy allows me to work with congenial people on worthwhile projects.  It has given significance to the wealth it took me a lifetime to create.  Once classed as the seventh wealthiest woman in Britain, I’m proud to have given away enough to take me out of the Rich List.  Gone are the days when wealthy women had always married or inherited their money.
Do women give in different ways? Do they support other women? Oprah Winfrey supports girls’ education; Sigrid Rausing supports women’s empowerment.  But then, both are generous to a large number of causes.

Givers, speaking especially for women, care about the issues and are ‘care-ful’ about them.  A man typically might ask “what does society expect a man in my position to do?” and “what recognition will I get out of it?”  Women seem less interested in these fripperies and perhaps focus more on “which charity most deserves support?” and “how can I make the most difference?”  We also outlive men on average and the classic ‘widow’s mite’ can provide solace in bereavement.

Let me attempt to summarise:

1. First, concentrate on what you know and care about.  There are so many worthy causes but each person knows whether it’s animals or children or the developing world or the elderly or medical causes, or whatever that touches their heart.  Perhaps, like me, you decide you need to start your own charity – the important thing is not to duplicate what is already happening elsewhere. 
2. Money is wonderfully effective but the passion and human touch must also be there if we’re not to patronise the beneficiaries.  I know from having received charity myself and expected to be grateful, how easy it is to patronise people.   So give with a warm hand and generous spirit. 
3. Philanthropists enjoy tax advantages; it behoves us to be efficient and effective.  So use all the business skills you have available. Let IT keep your contacts straight and records secure; plan, measure, benchmark, manage the process.   Leverage your investments by funding infrastructure, partnerships and challenge grants.  Make your money work with loans and underwriting.  But move from a corporate aim such as to be the ‘best in the world’ to whatever is ‘best for the world’. 
4. 'Just’ writing a cheque demeans both giver and receiver, so always add time and skills, energy and contacts.  Apart from anything else, it makes giving much more fun.
5. Finally, heed the words of John Wesley:

            “Do all the good you can,
            By all the means you can,
            In all the ways you can,
            In all the places you can,
            At all the times you can,
            To all the people you can,
            As long as ever you can.”