Photo by Peter W. Spear

Kaua e rangiruatia te hā o te hoe; e kore tō tātou waka e ū ki uta
Do not lift the paddle out of unison or our canoe will never reach the shore
- Māori proverb

It is interesting that in the American media, generosity often only appears when non-profits are publicly thanking their donors or in obituaries. In other parts of the world (South and Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Canada), generosity is considered a personal and collective virtue to be taught, fostered, and practiced.  In New Zealand, the Office for the Community & Voluntary Sector, Philanthropy New Zealand, and Volunteering New Zealand have joined together to create a public campaign to encourage and grow generosity in their general culture. This is certainly a response to the economic downturn, but seems to run deeper in their societal values. These valuable materials might also teach us about growing our generosity here in the USA.

The Promoting Generosity Project is being developed by a working group called The Hub. They have already produced two documents that are available on the web: What is Generosity? and What Value Do We Place on Generosity? In these documents concepts of generosity are applied to every sector of society: society as a whole, the community & voluntary sector (non-profits), and individuals & businesses.

Although generosity is not always visible, most agree that the absence of generosity creates a society that lacks connectedness and resilience.
- From Focus on Generosity

Here is their statement of vision for generosity in the New Zealand society:

Vision - A society where:

• Giving is the norm – “It’s what we do”.
• Everybody is recognizing and celebrating generosity in all its forms.
• Giving behaviors are understood, taught and promoted – “Make it magic”.
• Volunteering and giving are supported by government, business and the community.
• Inclusive and engaged communities are built and sustained.
• We are all working together – individuals, organizations and sectors.

Their concepts are based on current research into the benefits to society as well as the detriments to society when generosity is absent. Here is an example:

Where generosity isn’t there, there appears to be less creative problem solving, less ability to care for those who need assistance, more negativity, greater reliance on Government and other organizational /authoritative decision making and direction, and poor community self esteem.
- Sylvia, J., K.Peet., R.Till., and T.Mataki (2008) Building Happy Healthy Communities

The Promoting Generosity Project is also concerned with building and spreading generosity. Among the ideas presented for ways to activate this process in their culture, they state that, Building generosity is a cyclical process: existing social networks provide channels to recruit each other, and people who receive help are then more likely to help others.

Most laudable is their inclusion and connection to the native cultures and religions of their islands. This includes the Māori as well as smaller native New Zealander tribes. I leave you with this example:

In Māori culture, tohu aroha is seen by some as an expression that incorporates the spiritual and temporal dimensions of giving
and manifestations of love, sympathy and caring.
-From Focus on Generosity

What are we doing in the USA, during this economic crisis where so many are suffering poverty, to engender generosity in our people, our systems, our communities?