Anne Frank once wrote, "No one has ever become poor by giving." Not only was she correct, but the data reveals that people that give get richer. Studies have shown time and time again that when people give money often, they tend to experience financial growth and abundance. It may seem hard to believe, it may even seem counterintuitive. How can giving money away get you more money?
Psychologist from the University of Oregon found that charity stimulates parts of the brain which are associated with meeting basic needs like food and shelter, suggesting that our brains know that giving is good for us. Not only that, in the 1980’s a study looked at how people’s brains reacted to the endorphins their brains released when being charitable. The psychologist showed that when people volunteer or help others, the giver got what they called, “the helper’s high.” In other words, charitable acts can give you a mild sense of euphoria and happy people are more productive. Productive people, generally, are more successful, which translates into more earning power.
That’s all good and well, but how does that make you richer? One way is when others see an individual behaving in a charitable way, they elevate those people in their minds to positions of leadership. A study from University of Kent showed that 82% of the leaders elected from the experiment group were the biggest givers. In real life this translates to those that are charitable are often more likely to receive promotions because they have already been viewed as worthy leaders.
Our nation is a generous nation. In 2022 Americans gave $499.33 billion to charity, and the largest source of giving (64% of that total) came from regular people like you and me. The amazing multiplicity of charity can be seen at a national level. Giving effects our countries GDP! What’s remarkable is U.S. government data show that GDP per person in American has risen about 150% over the last 50 years, but the donated dollar amount per person has risen by about 190%. Donating, then, may not be just an act of charity, but also one of patriotism.
Whether neurochemistry or something greater, years of studies and experiments, myriad analysts’ data, and the day-to-day evidence we see with our own eyes proves: when we give we prosper. Many successful people in the world attribute their success to investing their time and money in the people around them.
"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."- Winston Churchill
Photo by Markus Winkler
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