December 3, 1998 | Read Time: 1 minute
It’s good to give but better to give wisely, says an article in Esquire magazine (December).
Giving involves more than “simply writing a check,” says the magazine. “There are smart ways and there are dumb ways. More important, there are right ways and there are wrong ways.”
A smart way, according to Esquire, is by using a resource such as the Catalog for Giving, a New York organization that “provides one-stop shopping for those looking to donate to any of the 14 tiny urban charities it includes.”
The Catalog for Giving, Esquire says, “supplies a fancy face to charities too small and unsavvy about marketing to reach deep-pocket types.”
Esquire notes that Maimonides, the medieval Jewish philosopher, had a checklist for wise giving, headed by the maxim that philanthropy should “enable the recipient to become self-reliant.”
In the modern age, some wealthy business executives have their own philosophies of giving, Esquire says. Among them is the media entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg, who has given away some $70-million to charities.
“The least important reason to give is if it helps a customer and is good for business,” Esquire quotes Mr. Bloomberg as saying. “The most important reason to give is if it hits you on a visceral level, which makes your involvement more lasting and meaningful.”
