Giving Feels Good: Reflections from Isaac Jones, Director of First Give

Reflections on giving from the Director of First Give, Isaac Jones.

I was never an avid watcher of Friends, but there is one episode that really sticks in my memory. It’s ‘The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS’. Which is kind of an annoying name, because I think a better title would be ‘The One Where Phoebe Tries to do a Selfless Deed’. Spoiler alert – she can’t. Every apparently selfless act of generosity ends up benefitting her in some way. On first glance this might feel like a sad conclusion to reach, but I can’t help but come away with a message that confirms something I think I’ve always known… 

Giving feels good.  

Whether it’s giving the perfect gift and seeing the look on their face as they open it. Or it’s giving your time to a friend in need. Or perhaps it’s giving a donation to support the work of a charity that you believe in. Giving just feels good. 

That’s why this Giving Tuesday I’m reflecting on the benefits of giving for the giver. The World Happiness Report 2019 reviewed a raft of correlational research that shows “spending time helping others is associated with emotional benefits for the giver. Indeed, research has documented a robust link between volunteering and greater life satisfaction, positive affect, and reduced depression.” It goes further, reviewing the wellbeing benefits of giving money. “In a representative sample…individuals who sent more money in a typical month on others by providing gifts and donating to charity reported greater happiness.” 

Research has documented a robust link between volunteering and greater life satisfaction, positive affect, and reduced depression.

But it isn’t just a sense of happiness or wellbeing, giving can play a role in connecting us to our local community, increasing our sense of belonging. Charities Aid Foundation CEO, Neil Heslop introduced their latest Giving Report saying “The act of giving connects us to one another in communities and across society: a more giving society can be one with a stronger social fabric.” Giving to the causes you care about can improve personal agency and the giver’s stake in society. 

The act of giving connects us to one another in communities and across society: a more giving society can be one with a stronger social fabric.

If this is all true, then giving is a human behaviour we should work to protect, encourage and cultivate. At a time when things feel polarised, there is a sense of fraying social fabric in the air, and we all maybe feel a little less like we belong to a community, perhaps we should pay attention to cultivating giving more. Not just for the sake of those who receive, but for those who give.  

One of the things we hear from teachers delivering First Give programmes on a regular basis is that students who have been disengaged respond with enthusiasm to the project. Our programmes give young people a voice and agency. Acknowledgement that what they care about matters, and that they have the ability to do something to make a difference. That they can give. And as we’ve discussed, giving…feels good. We have folders on our system filled with photos of students beaming as they clutch a First Give cheque, won for a charity they chose to support. 

So I have two suggestions for you, reader. Firstly – why not consider making a donation to a charity you care about this Giving Tuesday? You’ll be making a difference, and you’ll be investing in your own happiness and agency. Secondly – if you agree with me, and you’d like to get involved with our work at First Give, get in touch. We are a charity ourselves, so you can donate here, or feel free to get in touch for a chat about other ways you could support our mission to create opportunities for young people to give their time, money and skills to the causes that matter to them. 

Written By Isaac Jones, Director of First Give