Philanthropic Dollars Make Dreams Realities
"Philanthropy is not about the money. It's about using whatever resources you have at your fingertips and applying them to improving the world."-Melinda Gates.
When writing this unit, I wanted to be honest with myself and the audience of teachers. How often have you sat around a professional development, committee meeting, or student conference and heard many fantastic ideas to provide students, teachers, and the community with a great idea or experience? If you're like me, this has happened hundreds of times in your teaching career. More often than not, I've found that many of these ideas stay at the table and need to be revisited due to politics and capital resources. This leads to inefficiency and overall bad business. You must do this alone or with a small group of like-minded teachers and community leaders to get this done. While this is not how it should be, it is the reality.
Once we've understood that there will need to be some capital invested into your project, the first place to start is the philanthropic world. While car washes and bake sales are a great lesson in hard work, they rarely yield the return on investment necessary to take children worldwide. According to the Harvard Business Review, "Foundations now hold over $330 billion in assets and contribute over $20 billion annually to educational, humanitarian and cultural organizations." (41)
According to the review, foundations are, in theory, supposed to be created by the generosity of a company or an individual. Big businesses strongly prefer giving to foundations because of tax incentives. This puts a certain level of moral accountability on the backs of foundations properly investing those funds because they would have been taxpayer dollars. For instance, when an individual contributes $100 to a charity, the nation loses about $40 in tax revenue, but the charity gets $100, which it uses to provide services to society. The immediate social benefit is 250% of the lost tax revenue. But the immediate social benefit is only the $5.50 per year that the foundation gives away—less than 14% of the forgone tax revenue. (42) Hence, foundations must act responsibly and strategically when they're giving. Furthermore, recipients of philanthropic dollars should appreciate the gift and ensure the allocated resources to create a greater society. Its purpose is to make life better more people throughout the world, hence, dollars must be allocated strategically to insure resources make it to those most in need.
Schools that have some combination of high poverty, high minority, Title-1, or are at a lower social and economic status are often prime candidates to take advantage of strategic grants provided by local and national foundations. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, explains, "We have learned that improving education is incredibly difficult and complex," he writes. "We also know that schools in the United States and ones in low- and lower-middle-income countries face fundamentally different challenges that require unique solutions. We set out to learn more and determine how to make a meaningful difference globally. (43)
According to the 2022 Annual Report, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation approved an annual budget of $8.3 billion in giving, which was the largest single-year budget in philanthropic history. (44) Out of that $8.3 billion, The Gates Foundation has committed "five percent of its endowment on programs and advocacy concerning education, health, poverty, climate change, and clean energy.” (45)
Furthermore, the foundation has partnered with the United States government to work towards present and future collaborations in education. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arny Duncan explains, "The Department of Education is now taking its cue from these foundations and investing $650 million in innovation, which the foundations will leverage through their $500 million commitment. This historic coordinated effort between the Department of Education and philanthropy will provide more than $1 billion for innovation in education in 2010. (46) Another philanthropist group would be Michael and Susan of Dell Computers, who have been steady educational donors. They open doors for five million students, with $117 million in active commitments. The Rockefeller Foundation has made its mark by supporting schools to provide food for children in and out of school. The foundation helps provide "325,000 children and seeks to reach more than 110 million schoolchildren through food fortification and communication campaigns encouraging healthier eating.” (47)
Steve Irwin: A Man of Passion, A Martyr for Nature and its Creatures
Coming out of college, I wanted to change the world but wasn't sure how, I just knew I wanted "to do it big." The thrill of adventure and thirst for the unknown took me to Oceania. I had the chance to intern for New Zealand's Olympic Association for free by day and Burger Fuel to live by night. While there, I worked in Public Relations for their men's basketball team, "The Tall Blacks," tasked with everything no one else wanted. I could work in several parts: process, practice, tickets, accommodations, catering, media, and meal preparation. For the team to qualify for the Olympic games, they had to beat Australia in the Oceania Qualifier, taking two out of three games. Unfortunately, the team went down 0-2 in Sydney, and the bid was over. Although I was disappointed that the chapter had ended, I was excited about the opportunity to make the most of my current location in the world.
For the next few weeks, I toured Australia with a single pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts, and a couple of shirts. The greyhound and random hostels became a routine fixture in my everyday accommodation. During this time, I stopped in Queensland, where I came across the Australian Zoo, Home of the Crocodile Hunter.
Steve Irwin was born in Queensland. His parents were animal lovers and worked at the "Beerwah Reptile Park" home to magpie geese, kangaroos, crocodiles, snakes, and tigers. That park was only two acres but provided a safe place for neglected animals. Bob, Steve's father, was a dedicated wildlife conservationist. Steve’s mother, Lyn, was a caregiver to her family and the animals within the park. She specialized in giving nursing aid to orphaned animals, and once their injuries healed, she helped to rehabilitate them (48).
Steve took to the family business quickly under his parent's tutelage. He became an omnipresent fixture at the park, which led to a purpose-driven life focused on animal awareness and habit conservation. According to the Australian Zoo, the park expanded, the Queensland government helped with their crocodile population by dealing with crocs walking in newly formed residential areas that had previously been their habitat. Steve successfully captured over 100 crocodiles. With his wife, Terri, at his side, these crocodile rescue missions were documented, and "The Crocodile Hunter” was born. In a short time, the Irwin family had a franchise of their taping over 300 episodes and creating spinoffs such as "Croc Diaries," "Croc Files,” “New Breed Vets," Ghost of War and Bindi: The Jungle"(48). Although the Crocodile Hunter was gaining worldwide fame, he didn't use that popularity to benefit himself. On one of his episodes of The Crocodile Hunter, he said
I believe that education is all about being excited about something.… The main aim in our lives is to promote education about wildlife and wilderness areas, save habitats, save endangered species, etc. So, if we can get people excited about animals, then by crikey, it makes it a heck of a lot easier to save them" (49).
He used his popularity to save animals and their habitats. Irwin could gain desperately needed animal resources through his TV deals, merchandise, talk show circuit, and public speeches. In a 2004 "60 Minutes" interview with host Charles Wooley, which turned out to be one of his final interviews before his sudden passing, Irwin explained his purpose and how it connects to economics, saying, "I’ve been put on this planet to protect wildlife and wilderness areas… I wanna have the purest oceans. I want to be able to drink water straight out of that creek. I want to stop the ozone layer. I wanna save the world." Irwin continued, "Money is great. I can't get enough money. And you know what I'm going to do with it? I'm going to buy wilderness areas with it. Every single cent I earn goes straight into conservation. And guess what, Charles? I don't give a rip whose money it is, mate. I'll use it, and I'll spend it on buying land (50). With this approach Steve would travel throughout the world gaining allies in government, Hollywood, and the private sector, many of who were eager to push legislation for animal conservation and donate money to his conservation pursuit.
In 2006, while filming in The Great Barrier Reef, northern Queensland, Steve Irwin was attacked by a stingray which speared him through the chest. His cameraman, Justin Lyons, said, "I had the camera and thought this would be a great shot. But all of a sudden, the stingray propped on its front and started stabbing Steve with its tail." It happened quickly, he says. The stingray's tentacle went through Irwin's chest "like butter.' (51)
Irwin, a man who made the world fall in love with nature again, passed away at the prime age of 44. A small group of friends and family attended his funeral at his beloved Australian Zoo, which is now over 700 acres. Celebrities from around the world paid their respects. Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe, wearing a black suit and tie, choked back tears as he thanked his "mate" for every minute they spent together.
"Your passing has suspended reality for all of us," the Gladiator star said. Recording artist Justin Timberlake said, "Every kid was in love with the idea of being able to be him.” Timberlake, in turn, thanked the Crocodile Hunter for the short time they could spend together. Larry King said he loved having Mr. Irwin on his show, with his antics making for "terrific" television. "I've interviewed presidents, kings, and Oscar-winning movie stars," King said." But once I talked to the real-life world-famous Croc Hunter, well, that made me a hero”(52). The most touching of the reflections came from the words provided by his daughter Bingi. She says,
My Daddy was my hero – always there for me when I needed him. He listened to me and taught me so many things, but most of all, he was fun. I know that Daddy had an important job. He was working to change the world so everyone would love wildlife like he did. He built a hospital to help animals, and he bought lots of land to give animals a safe place to live. We filmed together, caught crocodiles together and loved being in the bush together. I don't want Daddy's passion to ever end. I want to help endangered wildlife just like he did. I have the best Daddy in the world, and I will miss him daily. When I see a crocodile, I will always think of him, and I know that Daddy made this zoo so everyone could come and learn to love all the animals. Daddy made this place his whole life, and now it's our turn to help Daddy (53).
During his funeral, "Five thousand people watched it in person, and an estimated 300 million worldwide tuned into live television coverage of the emotional farewell to the crocodile hunter” (54). Everyone who has seen his shows or interviews has a greater appreciation for nature and its wonders than they did five minutes beforehand.
Before his death, Steve said, "I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it” (55). Steve gave his life to nature's animals. It was a life of purpose and passion, and although he passed away earlier in terms of days, he had lived in a way that most were too terrified to participate in.
"Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live." – Henry van Dyke
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