The wisdom was a combination of a learning and a subsequent realisation, which came to me during a discussion we had after watching a talk given by Charles Handy at the 2007 Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford / UK — March 2007 about philanthropy and social change. The presentation - case studies of private philanthropists donating generously in acts such as feeding homeless people - was controversial among our group. We debated the social value of such random acts of kindness. I was conflicted: on one hand I was inspired by the presentation - both Handy’s polished yet casually engaging style and the idea of myself one being able to use money to add scale to social change. But I agreed with the criticisms that simply providing free food does nothing to solve the complex causes of homelessness.
The paradox of arguably ill-informed goodwill is a tricky area and our discussion was lengthy and passionate. I personally think there is no answer to the anomaly until we completely reorganise our social structure and adopt a hybrid form of capitalism and socialism. But this blog has a less lofty focus, though I must write about socialist capitalism in the near future.
In the course of our collective musings, the definition of philanthropy was raised and it was this tack that provoked for me learning and realisation that may change my life. Why be modest?: It will probably change the world.
Learning: The term “philanthropy” means more than just the act of donating money to welfare, charity or social innovation. Its wider meaning includes an “altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement [and] generosity to socially useful purposes[1].”
Realisation: I practice philanthropy quite a lot. In fact, it’s probably what I do most of the time. As a social entrepreneur I work, sometimes paid, sometimes not, in socially useful ways, motivated by a concern for human welfare and advancement. And my donation is the time, energy, ideas and creativity I invest in my philanthropic pursuits.
This wisdom has given rise to a new identity - a new way for the world to recognise me. From now on I will describe myself professionally as a creative philanthropist. This explains precisely what I do in terms of the synergy of the roles I act in, from comedian and disability arts promoter, to consultant, trainer and strategic advisor. For years I’ve struggled with identifying with one or even a combination of these roles because they are only sub-identities - alone they do not describe the fullness of my impact on, relationship with or place in, the world.
It’s the same with personal adjectives like gay, disabled, vegetarian, male, european, etc. They are only part of who I am, yet in society these are the descriptors we use to group ourselves. Often, we use these and other labels to divide ourselves and, in extreme cases, neglect, hurt and even kill each other (religious identity in the Middle East is a pertinent example).
I have described how, having recognised a new wisdom, I was able to create a new identity that accurately encompassed the synergy of roles (sub-identities) I already have. The final part of this process is to develop a new expression of this wisdom, identity and synergy. Expression is important part of manifesting into reality the potential I’ve created. There are three things I can do: firstly I now think about myself and everything I do as creative philanthropy; secondly I now talk about myself and what I do as creative philanthropy; and thirdly I now do things that a creative philanthropist would do. Interestingly, that includes making a regular donation to a philanthropic pursuit - in my case Diversityworks Trust, which is planning Momentum’09, an international disability arts symposium.
Getting WISE™ (wisdom, identity, synergy, expression) about the future is my new transformational paradigm for individuals, groups and organisations. It’s a creative way of evaluating past and present impact and designing future potential.
For me it has begun a process of acting on the inspiration of Charles Handy’s presentation - by donating a small but regular amount to the Trust I begin to use money to add scale to social change.
What could it do for you?