Generosity and the future of Atlanta

You likely have seen for yourself how dedicated Atlantans are to improving our city. Have you ever wondered why so many of our neighbors serve and support others? I have. Do you feel called to do likewise but want to ensure that your efforts are as meaningful and effective as they can be? I do.

On March 28, 2013, I had an epiphany while driving home to Atlanta from a business trip where I had been advising a national nonprofit about fundraising. The four pillars of my life — spiritual (seeking good), personal (family and friends), professional (work and business), and communal (volunteer service) — all revolved around a single theme: generosity.

The source and center of what matters most in life is the generosity others have shown us and the generosity we share with others. We are what we give.

This revelation began a 10-year journey that led in January to the publication of a book: WISEgenerosity: A Guide to Purposeful and Productive Living and Giving. The goal? Provide a framework for answering the big questions in life (purpose) and a guide to putting the answers into action (practice).

While sharing and caring about others are positive impulses, it turns out that a particular approach is needed to make us happy, enlightened, and fulfilled when we give of our time, talent, and treasure. In order for generosity to reach its full potential, it must be W.I.S.E. — well-grounded, inspired, satisfying, and effective.

WISEgenerosity is transformational. It changes the giver for the better. It changes the receiver for the better. It changes society for the better. It changes the world for the better. And what better place to launch this transformation than Atlanta, a city rooted in a history of civic engagement?

Like many others, I am Atlantan by choice. My wife and I moved here in 1998 just after we were married, and we have woven our lives in and around this city over the past twenty-five years. Our two children were born here. Our best friendships were forged here. Our careers were built here. Our faith was nurtured here. Our community engagement with and for others has unfolded here.

One foundation of WISEgenerosity is a deep-seated belief in the importance of civil society. Civil society is defined as “a community of citizens linked by common interests and collective activity.” It speaks to individual and group opportunity and responsibility, commitment to people in need, and dedication to social improvement. Civil society combines the desire for justice and the power of love and consists of the volunteer activities, nonprofit organizations, and community institutions that are the backbone of Atlanta and represent the best elements of our city and our country as a whole.

My favorite Atlanta example of civil society and WISEgenerosity is City of Refuge. I have served on the board of COR since 2006 and have seen first-hand the dramatic impact of its work. City of Refuge brings light, hope, and transformation to our neighbors most in need.

The organization occupies an eight-acre campus at 1300 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard on Atlanta’s westside. It houses a safe haven for homeless women and children, after-school and summer programs for children and youth, an accredited school, a health clinic, and a vocational training program teaching everything from culinary skills and auto repair to cybersecurity.

COR embodies WISEgenerosity in all it does and takes on the most challenging needs in our community, including citizens returning from prison and women escaping from the horrors of sex trafficking. The organization is diverse, determined, and more effective than any I ever have seen at changing lives for the better.

The City of Refuge story also is one of personal commitment. The founders, staff, donors, and volunteers are dedicated to loving and serving others and to changing lives one at a time.

Considering positive change again, perhaps the question to ask is, “What kind of community do we want for ourselves and for those who will follow us?” While no city is perfect, Atlanta has much to be proud of from its history as a center of the Civil Rights Movement to the dynamic energy and opportunity that continue to draw so many people and businesses. Likewise, our legacy of civic engagement offers a foundation on which to build an even more generous city going forward.

Native Atlantan Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. offered such a generous vision for an ideal society: “The Beloved Community.” This vision was based on the idea of agape — self-sacrificial love as represented in both Greek philosophy and in Judeo-Christian teachings.

Dr. King wrote that, “Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community.” Love. Justice. Service. Caring. Compassion. These are the qualities that I most want to see nurtured and developed in Atlanta, and I imagine that you feel the same.

It’s no secret that we live in challenging times and that positive change can seem elusive. Evidence of division, discord, and distress are all around us. Many people are concerned that the world seems to be heading in the wrong direction and are frustrated that they don’t know what to do about it. I believe that each of us is part of the solution and that all of us together can make positive change a reality.

You likely are engaged already in WISEgenerosity, even if you haven’t called it that before. You may be a community or corporate leader. You may be a donor or a volunteer. You may be on the staff or board of a nonprofit organization. You may be a professional advisor who facilitates giving. In some way, you are involved in civil society and contributing to the “Beloved Community” we’d all like to see in Atlanta and beyond.

My hope in sharing this message is to help bring more meaning and impact to you, to those around you, and to the causes you care about most. The ultimate goals? Your life well lived and a thriving community to call home.

You can learn more about WISEgenerosity at the project website. In the book, you’ll find the inspiring example of Social Generosity provided by the Civil Rights Movement (Chapter 8), stories from City of Refuge (Chapter 25), and much more.

For now, I offer one more lesson from Dr. King: “In the final analysis, love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all.” The Beloved Community is built by all of us together expressing personal commitment and civic engagement — creative, understanding goodwill. That is WISEgenerosity.