By: Marc H. Morial
President and CEO
National Urban League
Recently, the nation’s wealthiest man, Warren Buffett, gave the philanthropic world a
shot in the arm by pledging $37.4 billion worth of stock from Berkshire Hathaway, the
company he runs, to five charitable foundations. He earmarked $31 billion of that for
foundation run by the second wealthiest man – Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Buffett told reporters that he hoped his actions would encourage others to follow suit. “I
would hope that a few of them would pick up on this model; I think it’s a sensible
model,” he told reporters after making the announcement in June.
Although African Americans tend to associate the concept of philanthropy with the very
rich, our community has historically been a generous and giving one – whether it be
time or money. The civil rights movement of the 1960s didn’t start with the March on
Washington or in some corporate boardroom. It began in church basements and living
rooms across the nation. Civil rights crusaders didn’t rely upon the wealthy to help
them out: They built their own network of philanthropy.
In 1999, the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research found that 54.4 percent of
blacks gave money to charity from 1988 to 1996, compared to 75.2 percent of whites.
Given that the net worth of whites exceeds that of blacks by more than 10 times, it
stands to reason that our community is less able to give as much financially.
But what is most telling about the generosity of our community is that African
Americans took the top spot on the 1997 National Survey of Philanthropy and Civic
Renewal’s civic engagement index, followed by whites and then Hispanics.
When
blacks don’t have the money to give, they give their time and energy.
Since the early 1970s, ethnic philanthropy has taken great steps – at least financially,
thanks in part to improved economic situations for blacks.
From 1973 to 2004, the per-capita income of blacks i ncreased 70 percent from $2,521
($9,284 in 2004 dollars) to $15,758, while that of whites rose 57 percent, from $4,361
($16,060 in 2004 dollars) to $25,203.
In the African American community, charitable giving begins early. Blacks tend to begin
volunteer work during high school or college and go from there. They often take on
leadership roles in organizing events, joining boards. Their ability to make contributions
is often combined with a willingness to leverage money through fund-raising events,
matching gifts and donations from firms etc.
The purpose of our community’s philanthropy tends to be to “create pathways” for
people excluded from access and opportunity, according to a 2004 survey of minority
philanthropists by the City University of New York’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil
Society.
Blacks also tend to prefer giving to institutions they have personal ties to than
organized philanthropies, the center found.
The 21st century is going to be one of great demographic change for the United States.
By the end of the century and maybe even earlier, our nation is expected to be the first
without a majority ethnic group, demographers predict. Things are going to be very
different. Whether the change will be good remains to be seen and depends on us as a
nation.
If the current divide between whites and ethnic minorities isn’t narrowed, our
democracy will be in peril. That’s why we need to invest in our future generations by
financially supporting organizations and programs that seek to shrink economic and
political and education gaps between the races.
As the nation becomes more multicultural where no ethnic or racial group dominates,
our community will need to continue and strengthen our commitment to “civic tithing”
and take it into new directions.
The first phase of the civil rights movement back in the 1960s set us on the road of
political empowerment. Now, it’s time for the second phase – economic empowerment.
And we must adjust our gaze to the younger generation of donors. According to the
Center on Philanthropy study, these donors believe that access to financial power will
close the remaining social, political and economic gaps that exist between whites and
ethnic minorities in this country.
They have different priorities for their money tha n their older counterparts who helped
finance the first phase of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. They’re more
interested in gaining access on Wall Street than marching on Washington. They tend to
send their money to programs that emphasize individual attainment and employ a
business model of operation.
So let Warren Buffett serve as a role model. You don’t have to be rolling in money for
your contribution to make an impact. Let history be an example of that.
As author Isaac Asimov once wrote, “No sensible decision can be made any longer
without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
Our community must embrace change if we want to stand upon the shoulders of our
predecessors and achieve our dreams.
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