Charity

[ALS]

This may have been asked before but I can't seem to find it.

When is it in one's self interest to give money to charity?

I can think of about 2 reasons.

1. You suffer from a disease that has no known cure, you donate money to a research charity in order to help them discover a cure.

2. Someone you value suffers from a disease that has no known cure, you donate money to a research charity in order to help them discover a cure.

There may also be a case to give money to charity in good will, but I'm not sure about this. How would you determine how much to give, how many times to give it and what charity to give it to?

[source]

When is it in one's self interest to give money to charity? ...

If you're the owner of an international company, you could give money to charity because the development of the backward countries means expanding your market. On the other hand, you can simply give because you don't like to see people starve to death. And how much you give is the question of how much you have to spare/nowhere to invest.

[RationalBiker]

I think the key is, what value are you getting from the donation you make to the charity. For you personally, the two reasons you listed may be the only reasons you would get value from supporting a charity. Others may donate money simply because to like to help others and they can afford to without it significantly affecting their life or lifestyle. Perhaps they get some emotional satisfaction from helping others help themselves. Perhaps it's a disease they don't have yet, but may have in the future and further research may benefit them later on (a gamble if you will).

I'm not sure there is a one size fits all answer to the other questions. I would personally consider my economic situation; what value can I afford to donate without significantly impacting my life; what value do I expect to get from it; what does the charity expect to accomplish; and if a track record for that charity exists, what do they actually accomplish.

I have donated to the Heifer Project in the past. One of the things I like about this charity is that they don't just give poor people food. They provide the people with an animal or animals, and then teach them how to use these animals to support themselves.

VES

[Sesklo]

I don't think that giving to charity is an obligation, but I think that it falls under the category of benevolence in the exact derivation of the word. Benevolence, understood as "willing good," not some form of altruism, seems to be simply wanting good things to succeed, like cheering for a great athlete or compimenting a co-worker who does a good job. Giving to a charity which promotes good things (like a scholarship for gifted musicians) is a way of acknowledging that good.

I somewhat Aristotelian in my thinking on this: you should give the right amount to the right person. I don't think it's right to give to charity if it is going to damage your own life, but only if you have such an abundance of wealth that you won't miss the money, and you find a person or foundation that supports a cause you admire.

I am editing this to include my source for Aristotle's ideas on giving: Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV, section i. must...remember...to...cite...sources!

[Betsy]

This may have been asked before but I can't seem to find it.

When is it in one's self interest to give money to charity?

When the charity is going to do something with the money that promotes my values -- especially if they can do it better than I can do by myself.

That's why I contribute to the Ayn Rand Institute and some other charities.