Bragging About Charity Will Not Bring Absolution

[Ptarmigan]

Bragging About Charity Will Not Bring Absolution
https://townhall.com/columnists/scotthogenson/2023/05/06/bragging-about-charity-will-not-bring-absolution-n2622909

Bob Dole was unequivocal when it came to charity. During a meeting late in the 1996 presidential election cycle, when the former Kansas senator was trailing Bill Clinton in the polls, a group of us working on his campaign were trying to figure out how to close the gap. A few staffers in the room suggested we start promoting Dole's personal philanthropy to contrast his long and substantial history of charitable giving with Clinton’s donation of used underwear for a tax deduction.

“No,” was Dole’s response. I do not recall precisely what else he said but it was along the lines of, ‘That’s not what charity is about. You don’t talk about it, you do it because it’s the right thing to do.’ But Bob Dole’s view on charity appears to differ from today’s prevailing attitude. There’s a growing sentiment that charitable acts are something to brag about. We call it virtue signaling and it’s increasingly encouraged.

Writing on LinkedIn, Kids Rise Fund President & Inclusion Action Officer Whitney Stohr advises people to, “Humble-Brag Away: Why You Should Always Share Your Stories of Giving.” Stohr makes the case that boasting about charitable giving can encourage others to follow suit and raise the profile of organizations that benefit from charity. This is not unreasonable. It’s actually strategic.

But there are caveats to this strategy. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania reported in 2015 that researchers found distinctly different reactions to boasting about charitable activities. Through a series of experiments involving “perceived generosity,” it was revealed that, “bragging only pays in situations for which bragging provides new [information]. So if a person’s reputation is not so generous, bragging can help.”

Be leary of people who brag about being charitable.

[DefiantSix]

The only charity work I speak about publicly is my efforts as a foster dad for Herding Haven. This is because what I'm doing with this group includes drumming up public interest and attention for the dogs we're trying to get adopted into forever/furever homes. I keep a photo frame on my desk at work filled with dogs currently available for adoption, and will soom be posting video on YouTube of some of our potential adoptees.

This little girl is the one we're currently fostering. She's had a rough early life, and we're actively working her through the traumas we know about to make her ready for adoption when her forever family stumbles across her:


Outside of this, it's always been my philosophy that it's not CHARITY, but SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT if you talk about what you're doing. Now; get over here and adopt some of these fluff balls!   

[Old n Grumpy]

Beware of Inclusion Action Officers there’s no need for them 

[Eupher]

The only charity work I speak about publicly is my efforts as a foster dad for Herding Haven. This is because what I'm doing with this group includes drumming up public interest and attention for the dogs we're trying to get adopted into forever/furever homes. I keep a photo frame on my desk at work filled with dogs currently available for adoption, and will soom be posting video on YouTube of some of our potential adoptees.

This little girl is the one we're currently fostering. She's had a rough early life, and we're actively working her through the traumas we know about to make her ready for adoption when her forever family stumbles across her:


Outside of this, it's always been my philosophy that it's not CHARITY, but SELF AGGRANDIZEMENT if you talk about what you're doing. Now; get over here and adopt some of these fluff balls!   

Hi-5, sir.

It's one thing to brag about one's achievements, but it's something else entirely to freely give hope to animals. Dogs, in particular.

As it's been said before, we humans don't deserve dogs. They are our best friends.

So nope, such service to dogs isn't remotely "virtue signaling". If anything, it's advertising a very special public service.