21st Century Philanthropy

By Christopher Hovhannessian on April 9, 2012

Within a day I saw a dramatic uprising on Facebook in support of Invisible Children’s campaign against Lord’s Resistance Army leader, Joseph Kony. The same day I saw a backlash against Invisible Children from people who thought their non-profit organization did not do enough financially to help free child soldiers in Uganda. The fact of the matter is that everything in this world has two perspectives. Sure only 31% of the donations received by Invisible Children is actually used to help the children but at least they’re doing something about it. The films they are producing serve as propaganda to band people together for a cause. If we wanted to look at Invisible Children in a negative light, we might as well declare TOMS to be an evil corporation built on capitalism. For example, TOMS gives a pair of shoes away for every pair purchased. But how much does it really cost to produce these shoes? Definitely less than $5. So imagine buying a pair anywhere from $45-$90. Based on your purchase another pair will be donated to an impoverished child in a 3rd world country. So both shoes will cost TOMS less than $10 to produce, although you paid $45-$90 for your pair. My point is that TOMS still generates a massive profit for themselves even though they market their shoes with a very philanthropic cause. Every institution in society is run like a business in some way or another. Schools, non-profits, churches, and even thrift stores generate some kinds of profit to keep their causes going. We should at least consider the effort of these institutions in their quest to give back, even if their financial contribution is a fraction of their revenue. The influence they create is quite greater than any financial gain. It raises awareness in human beings to do what’s right and help people who need it. In Invisible Children’s case, I have never seen so many people on Facebook band together for a cause. Mobilizing supporters and activists like Invisible Children was able to do is the true contribution.

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