Delusional Altruism. Kris Putnam-Walkerly

your organization's knowledge or infrastructure.

Sometimes the Fear Is Justified

      It's also important to recognize there are fears in our world of philanthropy born from the very real dangers we sometimes face.

In 2018, Open Society Foundations had to move 100 employees out of their office in Budapest to Berlin, because of the repressive and hostile environment created by the Hungarian government's arbitrary interference.⁵ Richard and Rhoda Goldman created the Goldman Environmental Prize to honor the achievements and leadership of grassroots environmental activists from around the world. Many of the prize winners faced harassment, physical abuse, intimidation, false criminalization, unjust arrests, and jail sentences (two were murdered after receiving the prize).⁶ Activist donors who accompanied human rights leaders during El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s were often at physical risk for their safety.

      Similarly, several globally recognized philanthropy leaders were happy to be interviewed for this book but were unwilling to be acknowledged or quoted, out of fear. Some work in countries with shrinking space for civil society and feared negative political and professional repercussions for sharing certain opinions.

      The danger that some funders face can become tremendous obstacles to doing good in the world.

      But these situations are by far the exception and not the rule.

Don't Hold Yourself Hostage to Your Fears

Make no mistake about it: We all feel fear from time to time. Sometimes this fear is rooted in reality, and sometimes it's not. Regardless of its source, we're the ones who choose whether we'll allow fear to become an obstacle that gets in the way of achieving our goals. We have the power to overcome our fears and bring about transformation. As Jean Case, philanthropist and CEO of the Case Foundation, shares in her book Be Fearless, “I am always inspired by people who challenge themselves and those around them by asking the question: What would you do if you weren't afraid?”⁷

      We need talented philanthropists like you to step up, take risks, and make a difference. We need you to banish your scarcity mind-set and embrace a mind-set of abundance. We need you to put your own oxygen mask on first, so that you can help others and change the world. We're counting on you. Your community is counting on you. The world is counting on you.

Notes

      1 1. http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/odonnell-it-time-question-tom-sellec.

      2 2. Author interview with Meredith Shields, August 29, 2019.

      3 3. Interview with Charles Keidan, August 12, 2019.

      4 4. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/11/20/control-why-so-many-funders-fear-general-support-and-cant-st.html.

      5 5. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/newsroom/open-society-foundations-close-international-operations-budapest.

      6 6. https://www.goldmanprize.org/blog/fighting-for-their-lives-goldman-prize-winners-under-threat/; https://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFL8N1HR5DK.

      7 7. J. Case, Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019).