Member Article

The Morals of Charity

In the years that IAM Group Limited is supporting and partnering with charity foundations and institutions, we are frequently asked what the morals and values we should have acquired and what role we are playing in the community. We used to roll our eyes on those questions. Seems pretty obvious of an answer but there are still people who asks. Then again, albeit the simple question, I still tend to ask myself what charity really means morally in society, in my own personal relationship with our partners, volunteers and people we help with and in myself.

In a research I found, there are three types of charity volunteers: Moral Conventionalist, Moral Individualist and Moral Critique.

Moral conventionalist’ main loyalty is to their family and friends. Their giving on time and money is likely to reflect this and be concentrated on local groups. Where it’s not, it is often provoked by a spontaneous upsurge of compassion for those involved, for instance in national or international disasters. However, they are unlikely to put much thought or effort into their giving. When they do take part in charitable activities, they often consider their own enjoyment as much as the worthiness of the cause.

Honestly, this is what I am also undergoing especially when we are to attend to out of the country trips. You cannot help thinking on the fun of sightseeing. Recently, when we have traveled to Yokohama, Japan organized by IAM Group Ltd., as much as I was enjoying the charity work, I still feel the pleasure of seeing cherry blossoms.

Moral individualists tend to be more calculating in their charitable activities, using them to further their own ends, such as helping their career, or giving to causes of which they either are, or might in future be, the beneficiaries. The voluntary activity of this group also often includes an element of performance, taking satisfaction from the exercise of their skills or knowledge. Where there is no self-interest at stake, their giving tends to be haphazard. One spoke of getting rid of his small change without considering the recipient charity.

Moral critics have a highly developed sense of compassion and of their responsibility to others. They are deeply committed to charitable causes, investing time and energy, and are also much more likely to be thoughtful about their charitable donations than the other two groups. All contribute to the development of civil society in different and important ways. Moral conventionalist help to sustain families, neighborhoods and social networks, moral individualists promote hobbies, sports and cultural activities in the community, and moral critics foster social movements and causes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Stefan Siedler .