March 21, 2008
Happiness Is Donating Money
This may be a new angle for fund raisers pitching their causes to potential donors: Giving your money to charity makes you a happier person, according to a report released today in Science.
Elizabeth Dunn, a social psychologist at the University of British Columbia, conducted a few small studies that all revealed the same thing. When students were told how to spend money given to them in an envelope, those who spent it on others by donating to charity or giving somebody a gift were happier at the end of the day than those who spent it on themselves.
Ms. Dunn said that the effects of altruistic spending are probably a lot like those of exercising, benefiting a person immediately and in the long-term. Giving once might make a person happy for a day, but “if it becomes a way of living, then it could make a lasting difference,” she said in the article.
Erin Strout | Posted on Friday March 21, 2008 | Permalink
Previous: Donors Ask U. of Mississippi to Remove Names From Building
Next: Investing in Fund Raising Is Paying Off in South Carolina