The Psychology of People Who Make Large Donations
I make small donations.
It comes from a very normal human feeling of wanting someone (or something) to be helped within my means.
However, I do not push myself. And I cannot.
There are people in the world who donate surprisingly large amounts of money.
I think part of the reason is that they are wealthy, but I find myself wondering, "Even though they built it themselves, why are they able to let go of so much?"
Do they have motivations or joys other than the feeling I have of "I hope someone is helped without it being a burden"?
I find myself taking a slightly cynical view.
Actually, the psychology of people who make large donations is often not just because they are "good people," but because multiple motives overlap.
Strongly realizing the "marginal utility of money"
Once you have assets above a certain level, the increase in happiness from money slows down.
For example
10,000 yen → Significant impact on daily life
1 million yen → Increased sense of security
100 million yen → Quality of life improves significantly
10 billion yen → The difference in happiness beyond that is small
As shown, some people feel that money beyond what is necessary for daily life "does not easily increase the joy one can experience even if one has it."
As a result,
If my spending it hardly increases my happiness
It is more meaningful to change the lives of others
This judgment can sometimes be made.
Being able to feel "influence" becomes a joy
Large donations change society in visible ways.
For example,
A school is built
Medical research advances
Disaster relief arrives
There are people whose lives are changed by scholarships
The satisfaction gained from this is different in nature from the joy of buying things.
In psychology, this is called "eudaimonic well-being."
It is a deep sense of fulfillment, more about "my existence is useful" than just "fun."
The recognition that one was fortunate (a sense of paying it forward)
Many successful people
were blessed with an educational environment
had people who supported them
benefited from social systems
had a stroke of luck
often look back and reflect on these things.
As a result,
they realize they did not succeed solely through their own efforts
they want to give back to the next generation
a feeling can emerge.
This is said to be called "paying it forward."
A shift in values that often occurs in the latter half of life
Psychologist Erik Erikson described the task of maturity as "generativity."
When young
→ one's own success, abilities, and status
As one ages
→ what will remain after one is gone
is where the interest shifts for some people.
Donations become
"a way to leave the meaning of one's life to the future."
The more one has known hardship, the stronger one's empathy.
This type is surprisingly common.
Experience with poverty
Illness
Discrimination
Family hardships
Business failure
People who have experienced things like these can realistically imagine the suffering of others in the same situation.
Therefore,
the feeling of 'how much I would have been saved if someone had helped me back then'
can sometimes be the motivation for a donation.
Wanting to engage with society in a controllable way
Donations are also a 'means to reflect one's own values in society.'
For example,
Wanting to protect the arts
Wanting to advance scientific research
Wanting to support animal welfare
Wanting to expand educational opportunities
Unlike taxes, some people find the ability to choose how the money is used to be appealing.
The quality of joy is slightly different
The joy felt by those who make large donations is often a somewhat calm emotion, such as:
・Pride
・Sense of security
・Sense of mission
・Quiet satisfaction
・Connection to society
It is often a more subdued feeling.
Unlike the excitement of buying luxury goods, some say it is closer to a quiet sense of conviction that 'this was the right thing to do'.
For many people, the balance between protecting one's own livelihood and the desire to help others is very important.
Rather than the size of the donation, the attitude of "continuing within a range that does not compromise one's own life" is said to be healthier in the long term.