How to give back
Last General Conference, President Oaks gave an awesome talk on helping others. He stated:
"Despite all that our Church does directly, most humanitarian service to the children of God worldwide is carried out by persons and organizations having no formal connection with our Church. As one of our Apostles observed: “God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of his great and marvelous work. … It is too vast, too arduous, for any one people.”4 As members of the restored Church, we need to be more aware and more appreciative of the service of others.
...God inspires many organizations and individuals to do much good. It also shows that more of us should be recognizing the good done by others and supporting it as we have the time and means to do so."
This is something that I have thought about a lot in the past several years since I received my masters in Public Administration. I'm grateful that President Oaks gave voice to many of the things that were on my heart!
Working in the nonprofit field as a consultant for the past five years has taught me a lot about what an average person can do to help others. Now that I no longer work in the field (at least for now), I certainly don't want to lose what I have learned and want to share it with others.
As President Oaks has said, the Church cannot perform all of the humanitarian service in the world, and many are inspired by God to create organizations to help others. As members of the church, there is much we can and should do to help support and be a part of these great organizations, especially if we are not already doing so.
From what I have learned from my work, there is a really great way to give back to others: pick a cause and stick to it for a lifetime. As a middle class American, there will be a lot of causes for which you will be asked to donate. Children in Africa, reading to the blind, humane societies, all of these are good and worthy causes. Because of your unique background, life experiences, and the yearnings planted in your heart by God, there will be specific causes that speak to you and you care about. Let that be your cause! Find a way to give back and donate to that specific cause. Then you don't need to worry if another organization solicits you because you already have a cause you give back to! If a one-time gift to the Red Cross causes countless phone calls or emails that annoy you or fills up your inbox, do not feel guilty about asking them to stop because you have a cause you are helping, you are doing good in the world.
If you are looking to make a difference, pick a specific organization and form a relationship with them. Donate yearly, or even monthly. Volunteer. Get involved. There is so much good you can do in the world, and as a middle class American there is so much of a difference you can make with all of the skills, education, time, connections, and resources you have been blessed with. Not only will it bless your life (volunteering helps depression, anxiety, and generally puts you in a good mood), but it will make a lasting difference in the world.
Before I started working with nonprofits I used to see volunteering and donating as either or. Either you volunteered i.e. "donated" your time, OR you donated money. But if this is a cause you really, really care about, you want to be involved! This is not something you are doing out of duty, this is something you are doing because you love it and want to help the cause. Get involved in the organization. It will bless your life for the better, way more than just donating. Volunteering, especially with one organization on a consistent basis, makes your life richer and more full in a way nothing else can.
From what I've shared already you might be able to guess that I advocate for getting involved with organizations that are more local to you. Maybe you feel called to help build schools in Afghanistan, but you might be able to find a local refugee group, or help organize drives in your area. No matter what, a personal connection with those you are serving will ensure you serve again and again. And you don't have to go overseas to find needs! There are people right here in your community that need your help.
Donating monthly might help remind you of the cause that you care about. There are many different ways to donate, and most often people give a nice gift at the end of the year (if they remember). But it might help you more if you had a reoccurring monthly gift. You could almost think about it like a "subscription" to something that you don't want to go away. Maybe you care deeply about Netflix and are willing to part with your money, monthly, to keep them a part of your life. Why not give to an organization monthly as well to help you remember to volunteer, and remind you of a part of yourself that you are proud of and want to make a focus in your life?
My last piece of advice is to beware of the Savior Complex. This always made me so sad to see. The savior complex, for what I am referring to, is when you feel like you are "saving" those you serve and they are therefore below you. Your service and station in life are absolutely a gift, but we are all equal before God! You are not better than those you serve. This is not an us vs. them. We are all in need of grace and mercy. In a similar vein, don't be so particular in your search for an organization that matches your desires that you fail to find any that match up and think you must start your own. Starting a new nonprofit is very complicated, resource-draining, and in my opinion sometimes misguided. There are a LOT of good organizations out there! You don't need a unicorn, just find somewhere to serve.
When you are trying to find the right organization to connect with, let me give you some suggestions. First, ponder on the organizations you are already a part of. Do you give back to your university? Is there a nonprofit you've volunteered with in the past? Is there one you drive by that you've always wondered about? All of these are good starting places and places where you can possibly take some of the relationships you already have and take them a step further, or make a more consistent effort. But I also think it is worth pondering: If you had all the resources in the world, what would be your "cause"? What is something you feel passionate about? Then figure out what local nonprofits might be leading out in these efforts and get involved! Just imagine if every person on this earth had a "cause" that they put their resources and time into. So many problems would be alleviated, so much sorrow removed, and so much depression and anxiety replaced with JOY by helping our brothers and sisters. Volunteering and giving back to others is not a duty, it is a joy, a blessing in your life, and a beautiful way to express a part of yourself, something that is important to you.
