Americans remind us of their generosity
Americans are once again proving that they can be quite charitable with their money.
Did you know that America is the most generous country in terms of individual philanthropy? In fact, charitable giving in the U.S. is about 1.7 percent of GDP, the highest giving percentage in the world. These individual contributions allow American philanthropies to provide social services such as housing, food relief, and medical care to those who need them – services that the governments of other countries provide through higher taxes. Since American tax rates are comparatively lower, it is falls on individuals to provide the money to organizations like InnVision that provide essential social services.
One individual who recently stepped up to the plate is Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Just named TIME’s 2010 Person of the Year, Zuckerberg last week announced that he would join Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and other American billionaires and pledge to give away more than half of his wealth to charitable causes.
Not only has Zuckerberg promised to donate the majority of his estimated $6.9 billion, but he has also called on others to give generously to charitable organizations. “People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?” said Zuckerberg in a press release. “With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts.”
Zuckerberg has turned out to be quite the role model for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Let’s hope that our local community members, both rich and not-so-rich, follow his lead and become ever more generous in 2011 and beyond! It’s the American way!