The Guerilla Givers
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf
December 21, 2009
This may be the season of giving, but for those of us wanting to see a true example of generosity of spirit - and not just partaking in the common exchange of mundane gifts - there is perhaps no better evidence of the human capacity for caring and charity than the folks who run GuerrillaGiving.org.
If you haven’t heard of it, the site is a Vancouver-based blog run by a husband and wife team that recounts the "adventures" in anonymous giving carried out by them and their two sons around their home city.
Since embarking on their ambitious campaign this past September to give away 10% of their annual gross income "in daily increments, to mostly random recipients," the family - who we’ll call The GGs, as they carefully guard their identities - has covertly left small monetary contributions in cheerily decorated envelopes, complete with the contact information for their blog, throughout the city of Vancouver for anyone to stumble upon and use as they see fit. As a kind of fun extra, the Guerilla Givers also publish a picture of each gift on their blog, posted within a day of the gift "plant."
Their actions are a far cry from giving a standard donation to a favoured charity.
"We have had experience with tithing in the past, but it was often done as an afterthought, at the end of the month or at the end of the year, written as a cheque or dropped in an offering bowl. Giving like that was rarely joyful for us," writes Mr. GG on his site.
CharityVillage interviewed the GGs last month and it’s safe to conclude their newfound mission to pay forward their inclinations to societal kindness, and their family’s inherent spirituality, has brought them the joy they’ve sought. Below is a brief explanation of how Guerilla Giving started, followed by the Q&A.
Bono made me do it
Mr. GG said the inspiration to start GuerrillaGiving.org came from the U2 frontman. While enjoying parental leave one day, Mr. GG heard the following lines from U2’s song Like A Song (off 1983’s War album) wafting on the wind: "And if you can't help yourself / Well, take a look around you / When others need your time."
"Yeah, that one line kind of alighted upon me," Mr. GG said, laughing. He added that the words came at a time when he was having doubts about his self-worth and the meaning of what it is to be a person in society.
CharityVillage: So why call your blog "Guerrilla Giving"? Doesn’t that have more of a militaristic or negative ring to it?
Mr. GG: It’s a catchy title, don’t you think? But the word 'guerilla' has different semantics to it. I think it’s evolved in an interesting way. The etymology of the word [is rooted in armed struggle] but ever since it was co-opted by the notion of guerilla marketing, it’s taken on a connotation of subversive, surprising tactics to garner attention. And it’s often with an intention of surprising people at random. So I think that’s the nature behind the [choice] of our title. But we do feel that there is a revolutionary aspect to it for us. There’s a conversion of spirit where we trust the universe, the Spirit, God or what have you, with our finances. And that is kind of subversive in our culture; where we’re taught to look out for number one and think of ourselves first and save for a rainy day. So this does kind of upset the applecart a bit in that sense of guerilla ambush.
CV: Are you aware of anyone else being directly inspired by your site/actions?
Mrs. GG: Yes, there are at least two others who’ve decided to start their own similar projects.
[Author’s note: These individuals are listed on the Guerilla Giving blogroll]
Mr. GG: And there are others who’ve told us they’re doing this kind of thing already without the fanfare. One of the beautiful aspects to this is it’s putting us into contact with people who are giving...and it’s really infectious. We’ve been so encouraged by some of the responses we’ve received...I’m not sure if this will morph into more people doing the same thing.
CV: How do you know the "wrong person" won’t pick up your gift?
Mrs. GG: There is that element of trust that we put out there, in hope that whoever finds it will use it for what they need. If someone was out there to do harm and feeling down and out, maybe [our gift] would cause them to think about it and realize that people care about others and we’re all together in this bigger picture world and journey.
Mr. GG: A number of the comments we’ve received have been along those lines. For example, someone who just moved to Vancouver from the countryside and was feeling disconnected, was thinking, 'Wouldn’t it be nice to connect with someone, even randomly?' And then he stumbled across one of our gifts and it made a significant impact on him. So far we haven’t received any comments from anyone using the gift for nefarious means.
CV: Has your family always been religious or spiritual?
Mrs. GG: Both of us have been raised with traditional religion and faiths. But we’ve broaden our spiritual paradigm now. We really value our spiritual journey.
Mr. GG: As far as spiritual influences, I would say that both our families of origin really do have this value of giving and generosity and above all, compassion and that has certainly influenced us. But every world religion has an emphasis on compassion to our neighbours.
CV: How do you feel after you’ve left the gift?
Mr. GG, laughingly: Well, we’re praying that nobody’s watching. I think many of us have had the experience of stumbling across something of value and the joy we get from that. So in the back of our minds, we’re always anticipating what that’ll be like for people. Having said that, not everybody comments on their gift. But those who do are overwhelmingly positive. And that’s really rewarding for us, to hear how people have been affected by our gift. We’ll hear people say how the gift has restored their faith in humanity and many people say they will pass it on.
"Once the gift is left, there’s almost a childish excitement...there’s that joy of giving a gift at [traditional holidays and celebrations], but there’s another layer to it when it’s a surprise." |
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Mrs. GG: It is a strange feeling to go out there...but for me once the gift is left, there’s almost a childish excitement where I think, 'What will it be like when that person stumbles upon it?' There’s that joy of giving a gift at [traditional holidays and celebrations], but there’s another layer to it when it’s a surprise.
CV: What do you say to those who think your gifts would be better served going to established charities and nonprofits who could use the money?
Mr. GG: We’ve taken that path in the past and we will presently and again in the future. We don’t begrudge anybody for choosing to do that. Part of [Guerilla Giving] is simply to have some fun with it. The other aspect is that there is a kind of material poverty that needs to be addressed, and numerous organizations and people who do that, which we applaud and support. But I think there’s also an impoverishment of spirit, and regardless of our income levels, we all encounter that. We feel that, in some sense, our approach hopefully addresses that. The reception of a gift of money from out of the blue can certainly lift one’s spirits. And these are not huge amounts of money [we’re leaving]. People have said that it’s not the quantity that makes the difference, that makes their day, it’s the intention behind it. It speaks of a kind of interdependence for everyone. So this is not, I hope, in opposition to regular charity work, but just a slightly different angle. And hopefully it inspires many people to give in their own unique ways.
CV: Why the anonymity?
Mr. GG: We’ve committed to remaining anonymous for a year. A fellow blogger wrote us early on and said he found that a big part of the appeal of us being anonymous is that it raises the question, 'Who are these people? This could be my brother, my friend, a next door neighbour.' It can be anybody. But we’re afraid that something would be lost [if identities were known]. We’re both extreme introverts and we don’t want this to be about us at all. Rather, we want it to engender a dialogue about giving."
Mrs. GG: This is about love, mystery, and surprise. And something would be lost if the attention was put on us.
CV: Do you feel you’ve accomplished what you set out to do?
Mr. GG: We never envisioned the level of interest we’ve received. It’s been unbelieveable. We feel carried along by the best wishes of our readership and others and that’s really encouraging.
CV: Were you surprised by the media interest?
Mrs. GG: Definitely. But if the media can be of help to aid us in brightening someone’s day, then that’s a bonus.
CV: How much time do you devote to this?
Mr. GG: Between preparing the gift, planting it and writing about it… about a couple of hours a day.
Perservering in the face of hardship
It should be noted that in the month or so since our interview, the Guerilla Givers have themselves hit some financial and personal hard times. In one of their recent blog entries. Mr. GG writes: "A change in our employment picture has thrown a wrench in our spokes, and truthfully, as we paused in our journey to consider everything, we almost abandoned this project. It has been a time of real soul searching."
Despite the the unspecified troubles, the entry goes on to say that the family has decided to stay the selfless course and continue on with their guerilla giving tactics.
Some people might call the GG’s mission a waste of energy, time and money. But before anyone passes judgement, one should read through their site and pay specific attention to the comments left by recipients of the gifts. It makes for some heartwarming reading.
Happy holidays.
Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf is president of WordLaunch professional writing services in Toronto. He can be reached at andy@wordlaunch.com.
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