Stories & Lifestyle: Charity in the US

Christmas time is the time for donations, and this especially applies to the US, where a large number of non-profit and charitable organizations are calling upon Americans to give money. There are more foundations in the US than just the omnipresent, billion-dollar foundation of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda (BMG). American charity work is not just shaped by the high-profile projects and actions of the great benefactors. Especially medium-sized enterprise owners with an annual income of €50,000 to €100,000 are responsible for a large part of donations, e.g. for a large part of last year's $260 billion. In 2005, the average American donated an annual €690, six times more than the average German.

The main reason for this difference is the American self-made sentiment on the one hand and German welfare state ideals on the other. The German term of "Father State" would probably not be well-received in the US, maybe even make most Americans very uncomfortable. In the land of the free and the home of the brave, everyone depends upon himself first of all - because they really believe in that. The American individualism, the deep and wide-spread aversion to governmental interference, has its origins in history. The first settlers fled from their home countries in the 17th century because of religious and political oppression. They came to a world that didn't already have a social structure. When they arrived at the East Coast, they had to build their own society.

LACK OF TRUST IN THE GOVERNMENT
Many historians see this as the hour many of the national characteristics that shape the American mentality - especially from a European point of view - were born. It was not only their will to succeed by working hard that drove the settlers, it was also the time the foundations were laid for the typical local self-administration.

Most Americans don't trust federal politics. They don't see themselves primarily as citizens, but as individuals, who are a united nation under the symbol of the American flag - they are united in the distance to a political structure that could have a very uncomfortable influence on their lives. Their civic actions also express the wish of rather shaping society by themselves than letting far-away Washington do it, or to keep the state governments from getting too much involved in their lives.

America is a deeply religious country - who can doubt that in the era Bush - and very much influenced by Calvinism. The Puritans who settled at the East Coast in the 17th century influence the American mentality even today. They left the old continent due to oppression and poverty, and they came to the new continent to praise God and live according to his will. To this day, Protestant and Evangelical churches are the main influences shaping religious life in the US.

The first settlers' principles of faith - and the still dominant Protestant denomination in the US - were back then and still are today an important driving force behind social interaction in the US.

One of the most influential figures in American philanthropy was, without a doubt, Andrew Carnegie. Building the railroad system at the end of the 19th century made him the richest man in America. Carnegie was a tough business man, but he also firmly believed that wealth should not be passed on to the next generation, but used for the collective good. Anyone who dies rich dies in shame - that's what Carnegie believed and it wasn't just an empty phrase. In 1900 he sold his company for $400 million and until his death, he donated more than $350 million to charitable causes.

FUNDRAISING AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR
A revised taxation law of 1917 made philanthropy really worthwhile. From then on, donations were tax-deductible. The higher the tax rate (and it was continuously increasing due to American spending during the Second World War) the higher the incentive to make donations and pay less taxes - and thus killing two birds with one stone. In 1945, the donations stated in tax returns were five times as high as 1939. And the higher the donations, the more nonprofit organizations were established, trying to get their share of money from potential donators. This was the beginning of the modern concept of fundraising in the US. It was already professionally done in the middle of the 20th century.

The concept of a typical benefactor a la John D. Rockefeller is a thing of the past. It has been replaced by modern management modeled after successful company strategies to control the flow of the million-dollar donations. More and more foundations demand that companies, researchers or initiatives reach a certain level of progress in their projects before they get any money. Nevertheless, a lot of millions are still funded for projects that create only moderate impulses or presentable results. Sometimes, it isn't that easy to achieve certain goal - not all tasks are as catchy as eliminating a disease or developing a vaccine.

So, philanthropy is not only a mentality. It has become an important economic factor in the US. Foundations and nonprofit organizations are important employers. Not a single high school, college, museum, hospital - in short, not a single public institution in the US - can survive without fundraising, due to a lack of public funds. So Americans are frequently confronted with the question whether or not they can afford to give a few dollars to a good cause. Americans donate much more money than Germans do. According to estimates, roughly 80 million Germans donate around 10 billion Euros a year. In the US in 2004, 280 million US citizens gave approx. 248.5 billion US-Dollar. 75% percent was donated by individuals, 12% by foundations, 8% from inheritance and 5% by companies. The rich and mega-rich Americans contribute greatly to this amount. The 60 most generous donators gave as much as all Germans combined: $10 billion