Your values have value—especially when you give!
“Sometimes, people who want to give back aren’t sure where to begin,” said Anne Calder, vice president of development at the Quad Cities Community Foundation. “This is where to begin.”
Calder is referring to Your Generosity Guidebook, a brand-new resource created by the Community Foundation to help people think about what philanthropy means to them and start to carry forward their generous wishes in simple, effective ways. For people who have already begun to make philanthropic gifts to support the causes closest to their hearts, the Guidebook also has ideas for how to make giving even more meaningful—both for you and for the causes you support.
“We all have the opportunity and the responsibility to give back—and to get better at it,” said Calder. “Like anything else, the more you practice and learn about giving, the better you get—myself included!”
We asked Calder five questions to help introduce you to Your Generosity Guidebook.
Why did the Community Foundation create this resource?
We serve the entire spectrum of donors in the Quad Cities, from seasoned givers to people who have just started their philanthropic journey and everyone in between. To help lift up community generosity in all its forms—and to help people in our region get excited about what they can achieve through giving—we work to serve as a resource for everybody. We want people to know they don’t have to have $1 million or even $1,000 to make a difference. Every person and every gift can make an impact, and we hope to inspire people to make generosity an essential part of their identity.
What’s inside?
We structured the guidebook around four simple steps designed to help you (and anyone you give with) explore your values and the things that interest you most in your community. Once you’ve identified your values and interests, the Guidebook helps you bring those together into your mission for giving. Finally, it offers ideas for moving forward to test and practice your giving, like getting to know nonprofits better, paying attention to equity and inclusion, and more.
Who is it for?
It’s for everybody! It’s for individuals, couples, and families. Whether you complete the exercises in Your Generosity Guidebook on your own or with your spouse or children and other family members, when you look over your responses, you’ll have some really interesting conversations and conclusions. This guide creates opportunities for you to get to know the people in your life better, especially the people you give with. It’s a way to learn something new about yourself, too.
These exercises give you the opportunity to see where your values overlap and how you can incorporate them into your giving plan. Let’s say you do the values exercise and find that you have six strong values, while your spouse has four, and three of them overlap. Together, you can decide how to intentionally focus your energies on those three shared values for your giving.
What are the best ways to use it?
There’s no one way to use it: you can choose what works best for you and your loved ones. You can print out copies to write on—we designed it with space for your responses—but you don’t have to.
You might want to set aside a Saturday morning to work through all the sections one after another. Or you might prefer to tackle one section at a time. You might even just take one single question and reflect on it during your morning walk along the river or discuss it with your family over dinner. (The questions in the guide make great conversation starters around the Thanksgiving table!) This is something you can start and return to again and again as you continue your journey of generosity.
The bottom line is these are steps you can take at your own pace and on your own terms. At any step along the way, if you have any questions or would like our support, the Community Foundation staff is always here to help! We’re only an email or phone call away.
Where can I get my hands on it?
You can download the guide here! We’ve also listed it on ResourceLink, our brand-new information hub for donors, nonprofits, and engaged Quad Citizens. Your Generosity Guidebook is a great place to start deepening your relationship to your charitable giving, and ResourceLink helps you continue that journey.