It’s About Way More Than the Dollars

I have a dear friend who has had a lifetime love of animals, elephants in particular. He is very concerned about wildlife conservation and, with our increasing and changing human pressures on the planet, has always wanted to give financial support to elephant conservation groups.

He has explained to me several times how frustrating it is to want to help, but not have the financial wherewithal to do so in a “meaningful” way. On one occasion, when my friend was at a wildlife conference visiting with a famous elephant conservator, he voiced these feelings of inadequacy to this scientist. The expert reminded him that it really wasn’t so much about how much one gave, but the fact that one gave at all. The point this man was making was to give as much as you comfortably can and to involve yourself personally in the efforts to support your causes.

It becomes a personal-best kind of thing and your own philanthropic endeavor. In this example, the expert reminded my friend, just spreading the word about the poaching and population decline crisis for elephants was helpful in its own meaningful way. My friend was truly comforted by this observation and from then on never beat himself up about “how much” he could give monetarily. Instead he focused on what he could do from many perspectives to spread the word about wildlife conservation. It really is not about the size of the check you give; it is about the giving of yourself to something you believe in. Just do what you can, but make sure you do it.