I wanted to find a way to give back to my community. As part of a business rebranding, we incorporated that as part of our new mission. Thus, the Building Neighborhoods Fund (B.N.F.) was born.
The idea behind B.N.F. is simple. We take 10% of the commissions we earn and set the monies aside for the purpose of community development in and around the Buffalo area.
The cool thing is that our funds are available to all community members. In other words, non-profit organizations AND individuals AND businesses.
In doing this, we chose to place people above dollars (by foregoing potential tax deductions), and that is cool.
But the point of this article isn’t to humble brag about our awesome fund, so keep reading!
An Idea
I wondered one morning why the government couldn’t incentivize larger businesses to contribute to fund larger public funding shortfalls, like a large scale B.N.F.?
For example, what if federal or state governments offer tax cuts to larger businesses in exchange for funding apartment buildings to help address homelessness? For that matter, what if similar opportunities were available for a whole host of social issues, like rehab centers, public roads, shoring up school district budgets, etc.?
This, however, is a departure from the purpose for the B.N.F.’s structure. The point is that, as members of a community, we do not have to always wait for others to act.
Of course, ideally, governments will be effective, banks will authorize loans indiscriminately, and worthy non-profits will be well funded. Regardless of whether that happens, however, we (in the collective sense) have the choice to do our part in supporting each other today. Our contributions may not be as large as if we were a government, bank, or similarly large institution, but they are something.
A Quick Trip Through the Old Testament
This reminds me of a social structure seen in the Old Testament. As part of Jewish law, landowners permitted foreigners, widows, and others living on the fringe of society to glean from their fields. In this process, the owner would first take in the harvest and then allow others to take from what was left.
Put another way, the landowner gave of his abundance to those who could use it and, in the process, changed lives.
A Series of Questions
The real question then is: What would our world look like if everyone decided to give, even in the absence of an immediate personal benefit?
For example, what if one of the top one percent earners chose to donate funds to school districts in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, instead of (or in addition to) buying yet another a multi-million-dollar yacht?
What if a well-to-do landlord with an abandoned building chose to fix up the building and make it a safe, secure place for low-income families?
What if small business owners forego withdrawing a small portion of their earnings to invest in their surrounding community?
An Invitation
This is not a call for a socialist government, or a judgment on a billionaire’s choice to buy a yacht. This is simply an invitation to meaningfully invest in the people around you: Pay It Forward 2.0, if you will.
