It’s time to practice radical generosity

The other day I had a conversation with a dear friend about a political issue that we do NOT agree on. We were both calm and kind throughout, but as it wound down, he said something that broke my heart. It was, “Can we still be friends?” I said “Of course! I’ll always be your friend, Frank.”    

With everything happening in the world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the need for all of us – especially those of us in the nonprofit sector – to create a culture of radical generosity.

Radical generosity looks like:

• Listening with compassion and an open heart to people whose views differ from ours – and looking for places where we CAN agree

• Being courageous yet kind when we explain opposing viewpoints

• Resisting the urge to police people’s language or shame them online (I’ve been on the receiving end of that and it’s not fun)

• Genuinely showing up for everyone, no matter who they are – and not assuming they possess certain beliefs because of how they look or where they were raised.

And yes — money is part of this generosity equation too.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy, citing a Lily Family School of Philanthropy study, reported that less than half of American households gave to charity in 2024, down from two-thirds in 2000.

That nosedive isn’t only because folks feel the pinch of rising prices; it’s a cultural shift away from caring about others, from caring about the greater good.    

Even as the wealthy among us celebrate the explosion in their investment portfolios (the number of U.S. households worth $30 million or more doubled in the past five years to more than 190,000!), we’re not seeing those fortunes translate into philanthropy. When was the last time you heard high-profile billionaires boast about their charitable giving? 

You haven’t because they haven’t.  

Nonprofits have a responsibility to:   

• Encourage people to give what they can – financially and through volunteering.

• Advocate loudly for fairness and decency, especially when it comes to food, housing, and healthcare. For example: 700,000 kids have lost food benefits so far since the One Big Abominable Bill was passed. This is not OK, and we need to say so — repeatedly.

• Stand up for the arts, recognizing that creativity of all kinds from artists with different perspectives and viewpoints feeds the soul and strengthens communities.  

• Fight for science and medical research that protects the planet and ourselves. 

Generosity takes many forms. Visiting an elderly neighbor, chatting with a stranger in line, sending money to nonprofits whose work moves you, encouraging others to contribute, and speaking up about injustice.  

Let’s show the world that bullies suck and compassion rules. Let’s work together to create a movement of radical generosity – a world that is kind, open minded, and generous.

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Pat Libby is a change management consultant working principally with nonprofit corporations. She is author of The Empowered Citizens Guide: 10 Steps to Passing a Law that Matters to You, Oxford University Press, The Lobbying Strategy Handbook, second edition, Oxford University Press, and Cases in Nonprofit Management, SAGE. She has served as an academic, senior executive, board member, and consultant to innumerable nonprofit organizations and foundations for more than three decades.

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