After our last class where we spent a
significant amount of time discussing our core values, I was drawn to
the fact that so many of us don't really know what our values are. To
be entirely honest, when we were doing our class overview at the
start of class on Tuesday and I saw that we would be discussing our
values, I immediately became really nervous. I know I have values –
but to verbalize them and to put them into words and concrete thought
is an entirely different matter. I spent the remainder of class (and
the rest of the day, and really, the rest of this week) attempting to
do just that: to make concrete and put into words what my values are.
The even more important question (for
this class, anyway) becomes how our values influence our
philanthropy, and how our values influence our choices in so far as
giving go. Obviously, treating everyone as equals is incredibly
important and paradigms of utility like maximizing happiness are
values that many (if not most) people share. In terms of what our
values are, we also have to think about what issues we want to
address in terms of giving and which people, problems, and places we
want to address in doing so. The class makes it easy for us in terms
of giving us what place we are to focus on – local philanthropies,
so those in the Binghamton area – but we still have to consider
what people and problems we want to address in where and to whom we
give.
Considering how much I have been grappling
with this issue this past week the question I want to pose to you is
this: what are your values and what are your struggles (if any) with
verbalizing them? Is it something that you just know and are
automatically aware of, or are these values something that you have
to consciously think about. We all want to do good for the world –
or so I would assume, considering that we are all in this class but
what are some thoughts you are having as to what your values are?
Over the past few days, I've spent a
good amount of time googling things like “value in philanthropy”,
and “values and philanthropy” and I've found some pretty
interesting things I want to share. The Philanthropic Initiative
lists their core beliefs (values?) as “The
application of private resources for public good is a central element
of a healthy and democratic society.
-The
best philanthropy envisions giving as a serious investment
opportunity and an entrepreneurial service to the common good.
- Successful philanthropic endeavors aim for long-term positive impact – and thus, strategies with the greatest potential for change are grounded in an understanding of whole systems and causes, rather than symptoms of problems.
- Effective partnerships between donors and recipients respect the experience and ideas of all parties and produce mutual learning and better results for society.
The most rewarding and sustainable giving is based on the intersection of a donor’s passions, critical community/social needs and strategic philanthropy. - Everyone has valuable resources to invest in the public good.
- Our vision will be reached earlier and most successfully through abundant sharing, collegiality and collaboration.”
This
seems to me to be a pretty good way to encapsulate values – but
when there are so many possibilities and ways to go from here, it
seems to me to be a little bit overwhelming to find where we can
maximize the amount of good and happiness achieved from our giving.
First and foremost, I am ridiculously happy to find that I have not been the only person from class turning this question over and over in my mind. I've also turned to Google, typing in phrases like "defining core values", and "core values in philanthropy." As I do this, I feel foolish - what kind of person cannot even articulate what values they hold in life? It seems like such a simple concept, but it's been nagging at the back of my mind all week long.
ReplyDeleteMy predicament is this - I know which cause creates an emotional response for me, and an urge to get involved and help in some way. I'm interested in exploring the issue of domestic violence - education, awareness, and the empowerment of victims. What I cannot seem to pin down, however, is WHY this is an area that I want to be involved with. Is it my personal experience? Is it my belief that all people should be treated with respect and dignity, and as a victim of domestic violence you are robbed of this treatment? And if I believe that all people should be treated with respect.. where does that come from? My family? Society? Something innate? I've yet to be able to articulate exactly which core value leads me to feel passionate about this cause, or where said values have come from.
I feel like I may be working backwards, having a cause that I feel strongly about and defining my values from there, but perhaps this is a strategy that could help guide others. I imagine that if something speaks to you on a base level, it is because it relates to one of the core values that you are trying to articulate.
Like Sharon and Courtney, I was also unsure of what my core values were during class. For me, my values aren't something I consciously think about very often; I just act on them day to day. I couldn't really put them into words in class, but upon considering them for the past few days, I've noticed some trends throughout my life that I think qualify as core values.
ReplyDeleteFor as long as I can remember, I've been very passionate about fairness and responsibility. I've seen examples of this in my personal life as well as in my philanthropy. For instance, I always hate it when I show up to a meeting or hangout on time, and other people are late (this is a lack of responsibility on their part and unfair to me). Philanthropically, I have supported Doctors Without Borders in the past, because I agree wholeheartedly that emergency medical care should not be withheld from people based on political or religious affiliations (DWB is the epitome of fairness). Additionally, I volunteered on Election Day 2012 to help pass a gay marriage proposition in Maryland, as gay marriage is one of the most important issues involving fairness the United States faces today.
By asking why we have the core values we do, Courtney raises an important question, one I'm not sure I can answer. I know that I grew up in a household where fairness and responsibility were upheld, but I wouldn't say they were the most important values in the family. I agree with Courtney that finding causes you support is a great way to discover or further define your core values. I'd add, however, that looking back on small trends in your life can lead you to discover core values you didn't know you had.
-Jesse Cole
It's really interesting to me that both Jesse and Courtney suggest that working backwards might be a good way to finding core values. Working backwards will have us finding causes that we really support and believe in and using those causes to find common values in all of them. I never thought of finding my core values using this method before reading the comments on my blog post. I always assumed that core values would be inherent to us (and thus, incredibly easy to articulate) and we would then use those core values to find the causes that we believe in. It's interesting (and, quite frankly, very calming) to find that others in class have struggled with this same question as to what our core values are.
ReplyDeleteWhile I wish I was able to easily articulate my core values, it seems to me now that I will be able to use other avenues to defining those values - in particular, this method of working backwards seems to me to be one that will work quite well.
With the Vision for Your Philanthropy paper due next week, I think that I'll be able to better articulate my values now that I have a potential method to finding them.
At first I was shocked when people did not know what their values were and that it was hard for them to articulate them in class. However when it came time for me to try and express them I realized that it was a lot harder than I perceived. My values stemmed from how I was raised and what I was taught growing up. Or so I thought... This class was the first time I challenged myself to think about what my core values were and the appropriate way to verbalize them.
ReplyDeleteI still share many values as my parents however there are moments where they do conflict. As I'm getting older I am learning who I am and what I stand for. Knowing what I stand for and clearly stating my core values helps the way I look at philanthropy in so many ways. It really has given me direction for what I would want to focus on. But verbalizing them into concrete words and say, "this is my value" is hard because I can not find the right words to fully express them and convey what I mean. My values are things that I am aware of, however I've never consciously thought about them because it is a conversation that never has come up. I would not talk about it with my friends or when I am having dinner with my family, it would not come up in table conversation. I think the reason people struggled with this question so much was because they never had to verbalize it but were still aware that they had values. They could explain and rationalize it in their minds but could not articulate it.
I am glad that this conversation was brought up in class because it really forced people, including myself to think about this and do some personal discoveries. I agree that knowing your values is important in a class about philanthropy because your values play a key role in many of its facets. It plays a huge role because you're going to donate your time and money to a cause that reflects your values. However the question is do we all have the same values? If not, how could we compromise when it comes to choosing a philanthropy to donate to? I am curious to see how our values play a role in choosing a philanthropy and if there are values that we disagree on.