Abundance & the Power of Giving with Love
February 2, 2010
aspaceoflove
I woke at 5 a.m. and this story was on mind to share. It comes from “The Soul of Money” by Lynn Twist and happened early in the 1970’s when she was new to her job as a fundraiser for The Hunger Project. I cannot begin to do this story justice (and I haven’t read it in years, but this is the concept). If you buy the book or even take a peek at it, I believe the chapter is called “Money is Like Water.”
Lynn tells about going to Chicago and receiving $50,000 from a CEO at a large corporation that didn’t care about world hunger, they simply wanted to look better in terms of public opinion because they had recently received some bad press. She said that when she left the office she didn’t feel good about receiving the money, but she had a plane to catch and was on her way to New York City.
Her talk that night was in Harlem. In contrast to the gleaming high-rise from the morning, she was in a basement, water was dripping down from the ceiling into buckets placed around the room. She had been in such a rush she was still wearing the silk blouse she’d worn in the morning and she suddenly felt embarrassed for being so overdressed. And when she began her talk she started to feel guilty for even asking the people in the room for any money, but realized that was why she was giving her talk about the people starving in Africa. So at the end of her talk she asked for money, and it was dead quiet.
Then a woman stood up at the back of the room and in a loud voice she said that she believed in what The Hunger Project was doing. And then she said that money is like water, and that like water, money is meant to flow. She had just been paid at her job as a cleaning woman, and she wanted that money to go to the people in Africa. She announced she was giving one hundred and fifty dollars. (For anyone reading this who wasn’t around in the 70’s that was a lot of money, not to mention what it was like for a black woman living in Harlem.)
She walked up and handed her money to Lynn. And then every single person got up and gave something – single dollars, fives, tens. (I was reading the story bawling my eyes out!!) There was so much money Lynn had to open her briefcase so people could put their money inside. And she was instantly aware of this contrast between people giving from the heart and a corporation trying to ‘look good’ for the public. The next day Lynn sent the $50,000 check back along with a letter to the CEO suggesting that his company donate to a charity that they truly believed in and wanted to support.
That blew my mind. This was the first extremely large donation Lynn had received and she was new at her job. But years later she heard from the CEO after he had retired. He wrote telling her how her letter had affected him and that he’d really thought about what she said in terms of genuinely caring about what you’re giving to. He enclosed a check from his personal account that was many times over the original $50,000.
Over the years Lynn discovered that when money was given without love, hundreds of thousands of dollars could be poured into a project, with no success. But when the money came from the heart, a few hundred dollars would be successful.
I hope this story touches you the way it touched me!
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1.
Lorna |
February 2, 2010 at 3:32 pm
It’s amazing how the power of the heart working with money makes all the difference. Heartwork…
2.
aspaceoflove |
February 2, 2010 at 3:40 pm
So true, Lorna!
3.
Sonya |
February 9, 2010 at 3:17 am
I am so pleased to be able to keep up with your travels and adventures. I so loved this story and am finding myself sharing your story and blog with others in my life. the sharing continues…and the love grows
4.
aspaceoflove |
February 9, 2010 at 7:26 am
Thank you, Sonya!!