As my time at City Year Columbus interning as a Summer Fellow through The Columbus Foundation comes to an end, I wanted to take time and reflect upon what I have learned about philanthropy. Philanthropy is defined as “the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by the generous donation of money to good causes.” The idea of spreading wealth to the less fortunate seems good natured, however I think it’s more complicated than that.

When I picture philanthropy it’s billionaire Bruce Wayne giving his money away to whatever cause he finds important at the time because he will never run out of funds. Most people who engage in philanthropy aren’t billionaires, but they do come from a place of socioeconomic privilege. I recently discovered if you donate to a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt organization, and they qualify for charitable deduction you can reduce the personal income tax you owe. That raises the question of whether people donate because they truly believe in the work a nonprofit is doing or they just want the tax break.

It’s also important to note the rise of social media and keeping up public appearances. With social media at its height, we are constantly bombarded with what’s going on around the world and have access to information we would have never interacted with before. With increased awareness people are exposed to more social justice problems and incentivized to act. As the younger generation is becoming more politically involved than the previous generations and companies are expected to increase DEI and CSR, the wealthy are also pressured to be more charitable.

I wonder if it still counts as philanthropy if your intention is to get a pat on the back and praised for how humble you are, while promoting the welfare of others is just a bonus. However, we must look at the bigger picture. If the overall outcome is good and benefits society then how we got there is less important. We can only hope people choose to give from pure intentions and educate them about the deeper meaning. To progress, we should continue to be true to our work and make small strides wherever we can.