Chris DeHerrera
Director of Charities, Giving Hope Charities
Most in the business world are familiar with the term ROI — return on investment. There is a tendency to immediately correlate the term with the business world. Simply put, it’s an associated value to a monetary output. But for one minute, let’s step out of the business kaleidoscope in terms of economics. Let’s examine the possibilities of ROI from a different perspective and the value that it can provide your organization, your community and beyond, and what the measurables might be.
According to a Forbes Advisor online article, “Return on Investment: Financial Giving and Industry-Based Data,” by Emily Guy Birken, “return on investment (ROI) is a metric used to understand the profitability of an investment. ROI compares how much you paid for an investment to how much you earned to evaluate its efficiency,” wrote Birken. A simple concept and business equation of Economics 101. Without it, how do you measure the value of any investment?
Suppose you consider a new measurable in terms of ROI, or value, within the structure of your organization? The business mindset will tell us to only measure ROI in terms of monetary performance. However, there is something else to consider. The value is hard to measure because it’s difficult to report on what the fiscal return might be. No hard number analytics can tabulate this kind of ROI. Are we brave enough to define something within our core values that doesn’t come with a monetary figure attached? It takes courage.
In our current global environment, one can feel hopeless and helpless. Our social condition as a nation is in crisis. Suicide rates are soaring. We are amid a mental health epidemic. Our youth are isolated and disconnected. Portions of the population are unstable due to a barrage of internal and external forces, including social media, government dysfunction, political rhetoric, war, pandemic and the loss of vital institutions that once provided stability and security. We are in a state of fracture. At times we may feel hopeless and wonder, “How can I, just one person, make any kind of difference?”
Being witness to a domestic abuse situation three years ago at a Home Depot parking lot changed my perspective in so many ways. The altercation didn’t include physical abuse, but the trauma caused by one harmful and willful act by one person to another left me haunted. Two questions lingered with me: “How can I make a difference and should I have done something?”
After that incident, I was conscientiously unaware for some time that the experience was changing and remolding me. And then I started to pay attention. Some may call it an "a-ha" moment. I call it a holy moment. It was the beginning of a new journey for me. It caused me to explore my place in the world and here I am three years later gifted with the opportunity to positively change my little corner of the world through the charitable arm of Mountainland Supply Co. called Giving Hope Charities.
You can guess where I am going with this. Charitable giving can transform the world, no matter how small the gift. It offers employers, employees and individuals an opportunity to find a meaningful place in their world. Giving nurtures a higher sense of mission. Giving can provide meaning and comfort in our chaotic and polarized environment. It has the ability to give us “little people” a point of control over the overwhelming elements that can invade all aspects of our lives. It’s an opportunity to champion hope within your organization and community — to foster a kinder world. It’s called compassion.
Start by fostering gratitude within your organization. Reflect on the lessons of Ebenezer Scrooge, the beloved character at the heart of the holiday classic “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens. A tale written in 1876 illustrates that gratitude and giving are two timeless concepts. The message isn’t about charity, really. Giving was merely the extension of Scrooge’s metamorphosis from a judgmental miser to a compassionate and generous donor. If you know anything about English standard of living for the working class in the 1800s, it was not a gentle world and yet he, one person, was transformed through gratitude, compassion and giving. He changed his community.
Fast forward. The renowned business strategist author Tony Robbins explains the psychological and physical benefits of gratitude in an article he published titled “Experience the Benefits of Gratitude.” According to Robbins, the benefits of gratitude are twofold: psychological and physical. The psychological benefits include decreased negative emotion, increased empathy, higher self-esteem and improved outlook. The physical benefits include improved sleep patterns, increased drive, heart health and lower blood pressure. Think about these benefits translated into an ROI and, like Scrooge, the extension of gratitude becomes giving. Imagine what the value could be. It takes commitment.
Charitable giving by foundations grew by 17 percent from 2020 to 2021 in the U.S., as reported by donorblog.org. According to the report, numbers are not in yet, but (foundational) charitable giving has the potential to surpass $100 billion in 2022. In addition, a large percentage of all American households participate in some kind of charitable giving and Utah holds the coveted No. 1 spot for charitable giving. This data enforces the idea that somewhere, someone is gaining something from charitable giving.
The world needs bravery right now. We need courageous people who embrace charitable giving as a leadership platform aside from profitability. Courageous leaders who are willing to parlay gratitude into selfless acts of kindness without expecting a monetary prize at the end. The measurability may be vague, except it can change the world. It’s called ownership.
If you are looking for the ROI in charitable giving, perhaps ask yourself this simple question: What is the “value” of human dignity?
Giving Hope Charities is the charitable arm of Mountainland Supply Co.