Adrian Pyle is the Mission Giving Leader for the Uniting
Church of
Australia.
What makes you angry?
Advertising campaigns that encourage people to give because of
guilt. They present issues in a very black-and-white way and
suggest that if we make a financial contribution it will solve the
issues.
For example?
Pictures of models depicted as children in poverty or as a young
woman with suicidal tendencies.
Why is this a problem?
It actually separates us from the issue because we think "if I
make the payment, I've assuaged my guilt". We just make the
donation and forget.
It should be about encouraging people to get mad in a
constructive way, to become engaged with the issue.
What do you do personally?
Two years ago I moved from the corporate sector [as a senior IT
manager at a big bank] to the community sector, working first for
my local church, helping to connect to the local community, and now
for the Uniting Church, leading a team that encourages generosity
in the community.
Has that changed your attitude to giving?
Yes. For years my old university sent me letters for their
bequest program, but I'd ignore them because I didn't connect with
it. Now, I see bequests as a very positive way to make a huge
difference to people and communities through giving. In my own
will, I've left a bequest to the Uniting Church to continue its
work on inter-faith relationships: bringing real people together in
ways that make life better.
What else?
I try to be more creative with what I do with my donations. I
invest in a highly-successful but ethical fund manager, which
contributes its operating surplus to building communities. I also
have a small parcel of shares and I put the dividends into programs
that are based around education, spiritual development and building
relations across faiths.
What has influenced you?
In the past, I'd see issues out there that I wanted to get
involved in, but I didn't know how. But I met some people who had a
deep sense of engaged philanthropy, rather than guilt-giving. And I
also came across some corporates, who realised that a sponsorship
deal or throwing money at a problem, is not the real solution. It's
more about leadership by example.
What can we do?
I want to encourage people into more engaged philanthropy,
rather than an "us-and-them" approach. It's not about "us" giving
"them" a contribution to pull them up to our level. It's about us
understanding each other, learning about each other, and connecting
with each other - and that's where generosity begins.
For example?
My local church decided to support a Muslim asylum-seeking
family. I think they taught us more about life than we were able to
help them.
