There is a certain feeling one gets when helping someone else is need. There are feelings of happiness, goodness, and one probably has a strong sense of satisfaction. To use an old cliché, you are “on cloud nine.” The same feelings apply when donating to charity. Most people feel as though they have done a good deed for the day, and there is a high level of personal fulfillment. Why is this? Well, there is new research that indicates that giving to charity does the body good…more specifically, the brain.   

 

A recent study was completed at the University of Oregon by a team of economists and psychologists that found a link in donating to charity and the good feelings it produces within one’s brain. For the study, 100 college females were given $100 each and told that a mandatory transfer would be made to a local food bank from their account or that they could make a voluntary donation to the same charity. At the end of the study, the women were allowed to keep the remainder of the money. 

 

The results of the study, based on MRI research of the participants’ brain activity, showed that both the mandatory and voluntary donations produced responses in areas of the brain associated with reward, happiness, and euphoria. In the case of the voluntary donation, the responses were much stronger, indicating a higher level of satisfaction when giving of free will. Overall, the study supports the idea that giving makes one feel better psychologically.  

 

In general, what does this study mean for charity? Obviously, it means people are driven to give because it makes them feel good. However, beyond the scientific results, the experience of giving means much more to the Community Foundation. The donors that walk through the Foundation doors can be assured that they are gaining more than personal satisfaction from the gifts they make. They are also building a relationship with the Foundation staff and Board that becomes a friendship with a common interest: To enrich the quality of life in the Chautauqua region. Foundation donors are also building a bond with the community they love by providing assistance to the needs of the community. Science or not, these are both reasons to feel good.

 

Referring back to the study, what the scientific results indicated is that it does not matter what level of wealth you might have or what amount you are able to give. Giving makes every one feel good, no matter who you are. Again, this rings true through the Community Foundation. Donors of the Foundation are assured that any gift of any size makes a difference. You do not have to be Bill Gates or Warren Buffet to feel that your dollar is providing positive impact on the community. Each dollar gifted to the Foundation grows year after year, just as the Foundation grows year after year, making a stronger impact as time moves on. Once again, another reason beyond science, to feel good about giving. 

The point is, whether brain response is activated or not when making charitable donations, there is nothing bad about helping the community and the people within it, and each donation made serves to do so. The Community Foundation Board and staff experience this feeling of good every day through grant and scholarship awards. It is your giving that makes our giving possible…which is a partnership that feels great!