Why WE GIVE By Chris Gregor


Why do people feel a need to give? How do we convince people to give? What motivates us to give (or not give) to Springfield College? And what do we get back? Triangle spoke with alumni, faculty, administrators, and donors to get insights and answers.


The Science and History of Giving


PHySioLoGy TELLS US that tendencies to generosity and giving could be generated in the same parts of the brain that also control bonding and trust. oxytocin, a hormone produced in the pituitary gland, might play a large part in the process. The amygdala and subgenual cortex have receptors that are activated by oxytocin.* Social scientists point to the religious and moral


underpinnings of giving. “Virtually every major religious group, Christianity, islam, Buddhism, all have a major tenet of their beliefs dedicated to contributing to society through charity and giving. This common principle is for the good of society but also so people can feel a part of the society and have a sacred connection to other peoples’ lives. Ancient philosophers said we are not separate atoms, but part of a whole. Because of that connection we owe a debt to society for what it provides for in the forms of culture, identity, psychological and moral support. That debt needs to be repaid through giving,” says Dan Russell, professor of social science at Springfield College. The importance of the need for humans to connect is also


seen in psychological research. Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” theory of developmental psychology is often portrayed as a pyramid with the most basic human needs at the bottom and the need for “self-actualization” at the top. “Maslow says that once basic human needs for food and shelter are met, there is a higher level need for altruism, a desire for self-actualization that is met through the feeling of belonging. We find it through being contributing members of society and connecting to others by giving,” Allison Cumming-McCann, professor of psychology says. Marian Heard G’78, former president and CEo of the


United Way in Boston and founding president and CEo of the Points of Light Foundation sees cultural currents playing a huge part, particularly in the American tradition of giving. “i have found that giving is a cultural thing. i work with a lot of people who were not born here, so they don’t understand


TRIANGLE 1 Vol . 83, No. 2


our tradition of people going into a community and becoming part of an extended family, participating in a barn-raising for instance. When French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville came to America in the early 19th century he was astonished to see that kind of commu- nity spirit. i find that people who were not raised in our culture of volunteerism and giving back sometimes just don’t understand it. if it is not a part of your culture, it is not readily implemented,” she says. Dan Russell concurs with


Heard’s reference to the American tradition of commu- nity spirit and giving. “in his book “Democracy in America” de Tocqueville chronicles incredible inclinations among Americans in the 1820s to form organizations to address problems. This was not true in Europe at that time and it is not true in Europe now to the degree it is in the U.S. This culture that we created emanates from the needs of pioneers and immigrants to bond together to take on problems and survive,” he says. “it could be argued that the


concept of philanthropy has been one of the major factors in the development of America,” says Francine Vecchiolla, dean of the Springfield College School of Social Work. “This


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“I have found that giving is a cultural thing ... people who were not raised in our culture of volun- teerism and giving back sometimes just don’t understand it. If it is not a part of your culture, it is not readily implemented.”


Marian Heard G’78


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