Our Philosophy
Giving is Justice.
What does ‘Giving is Justice’ mean"?
Giving is fundamental to the human experience. We are hardwired to give to others. We see mutualism and help in animals of many species: clownfish and anemones; coral and algae; aphids and ants. In our own species we can see an outpouring of support during a natural disaster. The explosive growth of the philanthropic sector confirms this urge to help others. We give to help others, we give to help ourselves. From where does this wellspring of giving arise? We look to the words of the stoic philosopher Seneca as our guide:
“It is indeed worthy of great praise, when man treats man with kindness…Nature produced us related to one another…She engendered in us mutual affection, and made us prone to friendships. She established fairness and JUSTICE. According to her ruling, it is more wretched to commit than to suffer injury. Through her orders, let our hands be ready for all that needs to be helped.” –Seneca
Giving is an act of justice because, in giving, we live out our sacred duty to others. Giving connects us indelibly to our fellow man and to ourselves. It binds us to one another in a reciprocal exchange, in which both giver and receiver play an essential part. Seneca reminds us that, “There is not a man who, when he has benefited his neighbor, has not benefited himself”
We receive when we give.
Beloved Community
Giving is all in service of the Beloved Community. We draw from the incomparable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to understand the fullness of Beloved Community.
“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. However, it was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularized the term and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of goodwill all over the world.
“For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence.”
“Dr. King’s Beloved Community was not devoid of interpersonal, group or international conflict. Instead he recognized that conflict was an inevitable part of human experience. But he believed that conflicts could be resolved peacefully and adversaries could be reconciled through a mutual, determined commitment to nonviolence. No conflict, he believed, need erupt in violence. And all conflicts in The Beloved Community should end with reconciliation of adversaries cooperating together in a spirit of friendship and goodwill.”
-The King Center
www.thekingcenter.org
For The Martin Foundation, Beloved Community is the intersection of human need and resource. We seek to use our blessings to help individuals and nonprofits realize their greatest possibility. In their realization, we discover ours. It is the goal of a lifetime and we will often fall short but we will continue to strive for this Beloved Community with all partners of goodwill.
“There is not a man who, when he has benefited his neighbor, has not benefited himself.”
— Seneca