Charitable Works

This author (Mann) operates this nonprofit site, FearlessLeaders.com, and the related organization, which are meant to teach people about ways to serve society and support charity; plus Make Change Trust http://www.MakeChange.com/, which donates hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to important charities. He has a long history of charitable works. Please see https://www.FearlessLeaders.com/founder/

One of the principal objects of Fearless Leaders is to encourage others to undertake a life of meaningful charitable activities, and bring even more associates along with them. Charity is about easing human suffering; of other people who are ultimately not much different than you and your own family; since all people are fundamentally the same and deserve the same opportunities of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is not the case that you are responsible for the suffering of others. And you have no obligation whatsoever to serve others. And moreover, you have nothing to feel bad about or guilty about. Those are not the issues. The core issue is that you can make yourself feel better and actually be better by leveraging your opportunities and skills to serve, and to encourage and assist others in doing the same. If you serve, how you serve, who you serve, and how it changes and evolves over time is entirely a personal experience for you. We hope to be a small catalyst in moving you more in the right direction. You could even avoid it and skip it if you feel that is necessary, but that is contrary to our goals at Fearless Leaders. So, we will try our best encourage everyone to serve society for good reason; to ease the obvious pains we can see in our own communities and throughout the world, for the millions of sick and poor that need some help. Outside of serving your own family we can not identify anything more meaningful than a commitment to charitable works.

Charity has a variety of meanings to different people but the best description is an organization or activity that helps and supports people who are sick or poor; the sicker or poorer they are ostensibly the more they need assistance. There are plenty of other types nonprofit organizations that help people in a variety of ways, and provide tax benefits, like for the arts and for religious purposes. As good and useful as those usually are they are still not really charity by our definition.

Each person has a unique perspective on what charity means to themselves and the world. We will touch on some popular narratives and then focus on what we feel are the best courses of action to help the most people in need and make the world a better place.

Perspectives on charity include:

-I don’t think about it or care about it at all; or have anything to offer anyone.

-I am too busy and poor to deal with it regardless of its benefit.

-My taxes are too high and they should support sick and poor people instead of me personally.

-I give through my religious affiliations, not other outside groups.

-I help homeless and sick people I meet in the streets with money and food.

-I just do it when there is something in it for me or my business, like good press, socializing with certain people, or attending charity events.

-I try to donate what little time and money I have to support select causes.

-I sacrifice to donate a good portion of my time and money to support select causes.

-My life is dedicated to charitable works and donations, and I feel satisfaction sacrificing for others who are less fortunate.

If you are a loving caring individual or want to be, you should be concerned about charitable works and what you can do to assist; which includes convincing others at your business or in your life to help out too. Training future leaders to serve charity directly or indirectly is one of the primary purposes of our Fearless Leaders organization.

Under Section501(c)(3) of the IRS code there are different kinds of organizations that can qualify as a charitable organization.

-Private family foundations.

-Publicly supported entities (financed by donors).

-Charities supported by gifts, dues and fees.

-Supporting charitable organizations (that assists other charities).

There are several ways to fund your favorite charities:

-Donating cash is the easiest and most common way; and if you are a social entrepreneur, you can tie that in to your business success and programs conceptually. [See Mann’s book Make Millions and Make Change (www.MakeMillions.com; free download and viewing) for more information about social entrepreneurism.]

-Donating valuable assets including stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other regulated securities; plus, automobiles, real estate, art, etc.

-Planned giving and charitable trusts.

-Volunteering your time to help organizations thrive is just as important as financial support.

We encourage you to research charitable organizations in your area and around the world, speak with other interested parties, and start planning and executing your own life of service.