Eight great books about giving
Since 1945 the Children’s Book Council of Australia has dedicated a week to inspire reading across schools and libraries around Australia from 19 – 26 August. So we thought we’d get in on the act and provide our readers with a reading list of eight great books on giving.
1) Ethics in the Real World: 82 Brief Essays on Things That Matter
By Peter Singer
Peter Singer – born in Australia, is often described as the world’s most influential philosopher. The author of important books such as The Life You Can Save and The Most Good You Can Do, Singer has guided great thought into effective altruism and our responsibility to one another, animals and the wider planet.
Now in Ethics in the Real World, Singer explores a range of philosophical challenges that we face in daily life in just a few hundred words. If you’re looking at how you can help alleviate suffering and have a positive impact, this is a great book!
2) Simple giving: Easy ways to give every day
By Jennifer Lacovelli
In Simple Giving, Jennifer Lacovelli shows us how to make giving a part of our daily routines. After working in the nonprofit sector, Lacovelli became frustrated with the disconnect between givers and receivers. Givers didn’t realise how much of an impact they could make, while recipients couldn’t thank the organisation enough.
Lacovelli inspires us with the stories of how people from mums to social entrepreneurs are giving back in creative ways. She further suggests ways to brighten the lives of those we help, while also embodying the positive change in our own lives.
3) Mother Teresa: An Authorized Biography
By Kathryn Spink
For nearly fifty years at the head of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa, advocated for the poor and homeless, ministered the sick, and served the most disadvantaged in Indian slums. Offering respect and compassion for every person she reached, Mother Teresa is known as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 21st century.
Follow her story from the best auto-biography there is. Kathryn Sprink provides insight into what drove Mother Teresa’s pursuit to alleviate poverty, her sacrifice and the lasting impact she’s had in India and abroad.
4) Driven by purpose
By Stephen Judd
Australian charity leader and CEO of Hammond Care, Stephen Judd provides a powerful reflection on how charities can be more effective and purpose driven organisations, now and into the future.
Judd suggests that charities, in Australia and many parts of the world, are facing an identity crisis. One that could impact the very fabric of their societies and the millions marginalised and disadvantaged people they serve. This is a must-read for everyone in the charity and not-for-profit sector, and indeed anyone who longs to be driven by purpose.
5) Women and Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World
By Sondra Shaw-Hardy and Martha Taylor
Founders of women giving circles and women philanthropy initiatives in America, the authors provide in-depth analysis into the diversity and impact of women in the philanthropic landscape. Women and Philanthropy dissects what has been, but importantly, provides a road map for what is also possible in the changing face of philanthropy.
Their latest volume is a must-read not only for anyone working in the nonprofit sector, but also provides guidance and inspiration for anyone interested in the opportunities for charitable giving, regardless of gender.
6) From me to we: The five transformational commitments required to rescue the planet, your organisation, and your life
By Bob Doppelt
Bob Doppelt prescribes five commitments that will help you to resolve some of today’s most entrenched environmental and social problems. Not coincidentally, these are designed also improve the quality of your own life and your own resolutions.
From Me to We draws from the laws of interdependence, moral justice and trusteeship, and calls on us to look beyond a doctrine of individualism and re-find connection. The book is a great find for those looking for the practical behavioral change we can make for widespread positive change.
7) Creating a world without poverty: Social business and the future of capitalism
By Muhammad Yunus
Nobel Peace Prize winner, founder of the Grameen Bank and pioneer of microcredit, Muhammad Yunus takes the ambitious task to use business in new and creative ways to tackle social problems. In the last two decades, free markets have swept the globe, but it remains unable to solve persistent problems like inequality and poverty.
Creating a World Without Poverty outlines the concept of social business to address issues from feeding the poor and housing the homeless through to protecting the planet and enhancing a sustainable future. It reveals the next phase in a hopeful economic and social revolution that Yunus suggests is already underway.
8) A kids guide to giving
By Freddi Zeiler
Finally, it might be a few years old, but the message holds strong for children and adults alike. There’s nothing like explaining why we give, why we donate and why we share in a way that our seven year olds can understand. Written by a kid for kids, A Kid’s Guide to Giving is a practical resource with everything kids need to know about making a difference in the world around them.
