Jared Crawford
Director of Communications, Hall of Giants
Earlier this month, a good friend reached out to me about supporting an upcoming philanthropy campaign they were involved with. The effort was a part of the larger “Give for Good Louisville,” an annual effort to raise funds for local nonprofits and community organizations. The day offers opportunities for folks across the Derby City to raise money for their favorite organizations, often with local businesses matching funds.
A quick look at the Give for Good Louisville website reveals that some of the largest and most successful businesses in the community support the effort.
At Hall of Giants, we often talk about how the entrepreneur who is scraping by in their garage is revered, but as soon as they make it to the penthouse, they become an enemy of the people. But the philanthropy of businesses and the people who build them tells a different story.
It’s a reminder that giving is often a central part of the entrepreneur’s story.
Entrepreneurship is typically measured by what you build: the company you grow, the employees you hire, the products you create, or the customers you serve. But for many entrepreneurs, the journey eventually becomes about something bigger than the business itself.
Entrepreneurs understand the value of opportunity. Most successful business owners can point to someone who believed in them early on – a mentor who offered advice, a customer who took a chance, an investor who said yes, or a friend who encouraged them to keep going when things were uncertain.
As entrepreneurs find success, many choose to become that person for someone else.
That choice can mean donating to a cause they care about, supporting a local organization, mentoring a young entrepreneur, creating scholarships, investing in their community, or simply opening a door for someone who needs an opportunity. The same qualities that drive entrepreneurship – initiative, optimism, hard work, and a belief that things can be better – also drive philanthropy.
There is something powerful about building something and then using that success to help others build something of their own. We often call that giving back. It is more than that. It is giving forward.
In the museum we’re building, we plan to tell the stories of the philanthropy of many of our most successful entrepreneurs. Giving, we have found, is a widely shared instinct among them. Folks like Michael Bloomberg and Ken Griffin have both given generously to healthcare and education nonprofits. Sara Blakely (founder of Spanx) has joined many other founders in supporting The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic commitment through which many of the world’s wealthiest individuals promise to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetimes.
During this year’s Give for Good Louisville, and then on Giving Tuesday, and in holiday campaigns, and in the months and years that follow, entrepreneurs everywhere will quietly support efforts of all shapes and sizes. They will be doing more than giving back. They will be giving forward, helping others find the same opportunities that made their own journeys possible.