Annual Giving

Charity is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need. It serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion.

Etymology

The word ''charity'' originated in late Old English to mean a " Christian love for one's fellows", and until at least the beginning of the 20th century, this meaning remained synonymous with charity. Apart from this original meaning, ''charity'' is etymologically linked to Christianity, with the word originally entering the English language through the Old French word , which derived from the Latin , a word commonly used in the Vulgate New Testament to translate the Greek word (), a distinct form of Love (religious views)#Christian, love.

Over time, the meaning of ''charity'' has evolved from "Christian love" to "providing for those in need; generosity and giving" (cf. '' offertory''), a transition that began with the Old French word . Thus, while the older Douay-Rheims and King James versions of the Bible translate instances of (such as those appearing in 1 Corinthians 13) as "charity", modern English versions of the Bible typically translate as "love".

Practice

Charitable giving is the act of donating money, goods, or time to the less fortunate, either directly or through a charitable trust or another worthy cause. Charitable giving as a religious act or duty is referred to as ''almsgiving'' or ''alms''. The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity: providing recipients with the means they need to survive. The impoverished, particularly widows, orphans, the ailing, and the injured, are generally considered appropriate recipients of charity. People who cannot support themselves and lack external means of support sometimes become " beggars," directly seeking help from strangers in public.

Some groups believe that charity is best directed towards other members of their specific group. Although giving to those closely connected to oneself is sometimes considered charity—as in the saying "Charity begins at home"—charity usually involves giving to those who are not related. Terms like filial piety describe supporting one's family and friends. Treating relatives as strangers in need of charity has led to the phrase "as cold as charity"—providing for one's relatives as if they were strangers, without affection. Behavioural psychology describes the feeling derived from the practice of charitable giving as having an impact on how much and how often people give The "warm glow" of giving has been described as an intrinsic benefit received from charitable giving as first described by James Andreoni. Feelings derived from giving can be positive or negative for individuals.

Most forms of charity focus on providing basic necessities such as food, water, clothing, healthcare, and shelter. However, other actions can also be considered charitable: visiting the imprisoned or homebound, ransoming captives, educating orphans, and supporting social movements. Donations to causes that indirectly benefit the less fortunate, like funding cancer research, also fall under the category of charity.

Regarding religious aspects, recipients of charity may offer prayers for the benefactor. In medieval Europe, it was customary to provide meals to the poor at funerals in exchange for their prayers for the deceased. Institutions may honor benefactors by displaying their names or even naming buildings or the institution itself after them. When the recipient provides something of substantial value in return, the transaction is usually not labeled as charity.

In the past, many charitable organizations followed a "charitable model" in which donors gave to conglomerates that then distributed to recipients. Examples include the Make a Wish Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund. Nowadays, some charities allow online donations through websites like JustGiving. Originally, charity involved the benefactor directly giving goods to the receiver. This practice continues with some individuals, such as " CNN Hero" Sal Dimiceli, and service organizations like the Jaycees. With the rise of more social peer-to-peer processes, many charities are moving away from the charitable model, adopting a more direct donor-to-recipient approach. Examples include Global Giving (direct funding of community development projects in developing countries), DonorsChoose (for U.S.-based projects), Kiva (funding loans administered by microfinance organizations in developing countries), and Zidisha (funding individual microfinance borrowers directly).

Institutions developed to assist the poor, and these charities now constitute the majority of charitable giving in terms of monetary value. These institutions include orphanages, food banks, religious institutes dedicated to helping the poor, hospitals, organizations that visit the homebound and imprisoned, and many others. These institutions allow individuals who may not have the time or inclination to care for the poor directly to enable others to do so. They provide funding for the work and support those who do it. Institutions can also work to distinguish genuine need from fraudulent claims of charity. Early Christians particularly emphasized the care of the less fortunate as the responsibility of the local bishop.

Various studies have examined who gives more to charity. A study in the United States found that as income decreases, charitable giving increases as a percentage of income. For instance, the poorest fifth of Americans donated 4.3% of their income, while the wealthiest fifth donated 2.1%. In absolute terms, this translated to an average donation of $453 from an average income of $10,531, compared to $3,326 from an income of $158,388.

Research also indicates that "individuals who are religious are more likely to give money to charitable organizations" and tend to give more than those who are not religious. A study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding examined philanthropic and charitable giving among members of American religious communities. The study found that American Muslim donation patterns align mostly with other American faith groups, like Christian (Protestant and Catholic), and Jewish communities, but American Muslims are more likely to donate due to a sense of religious obligation and a belief in helping those in need. The study also revealed that most American faith groups prioritize charity for their own places of worship in monetary donations, and then for other causes. Muslims and Jews contributed more to civil rights protection organizations than other religious groups, while Christians were more likely to make charitable contributions to youth and family services, with Evangelicals giving the most, followed by Mainline Protestants and Roman Catholics.

A 2021 study discovered that when potential donors had to choose between two similar donation targets, they were more likely to choose not to donate at all.

Criticism

A philosophical critique of charity can be found in Oscar Wilde's essay '' The Soul of Man Under Socialism'', in which he refers to it as "a ridiculously inadequate mode of partial restitution... usually accompanied by some impertinent attempt on the part of the sentimentalist to tyrannize over he poor'sprivate lives." He also views it as a remedy that perpetuates the "disease" of poverty instead of curing it. Slavoj Žižek approves of Wilde's thoughts and adds his own interpretation of the effect of charity on the charitable:

In his 1845 treatise on the condition of the working class in England, Friedrich Engels

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