Generosity for your own wellbeing
Philanthropy’s effect on the world at large cannot be understated. Whether we are conscious of it or not, every single one of us is a benefactor of philanthropy’s impact. We can thank generous individuals for global vaccine development and deployment, the inception of the US public health system, and famine-resistant crops (just to name a few).
And while we continue to applaud the incredible milestones towards human progress philanthropy has helped fuel, it’s worthwhile to note the positive impacts the act of giving has on the giver, too.
Your brain rewards you for generosity
Studies have found that when you give, your brain responds in much the same way it does to other rewarding experiences: lowering stress hormones and increasing dopamine and serotonin. These effects extend beyond the moment of giving itself and contribute to greater long-term wellbeing.
In a widely cited brain-imaging study, researchers found that donating to a cause activated the same regions of the brain, the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens, that light up when people receive money themselves. Interestingly, this reward response showed up even when giving wasn't voluntary, though it was notably stronger when people chose to give.
In an experiment published in Science, participants were given a small sum of money and told to spend it either on themselves or on someone else by the end of the day. Those who spent it on others reported meaningfully greater happiness afterward regardless of how much they spent.
Regular giving is associated with better long-term health outcomes
Longitudinal research has linked sustained volunteering and giving to lower mortality risk over time and the benefit appears strongest when the motivation behind the giving is ‘other-focused’, rather than given in expectation of something in return.
For families, philanthropy carries another benefit: it becomes something you can hand down alongside wealth itself
When parents involve their children in giving decisions, whether that's volunteering together, choosing a cause as a family, or setting up a donor-advised fund the kids help direct, they're teaching empathy, gratitude, and a sense of responsibility toward something larger than themselves.
Children raised around active giving tend to grow up seeing themselves as stewards of what their family has built. That shift in self-understanding is, for many of the families we work with, as valuable as any financial outcome.
At Capital Good, we celebrate the varied ways that generosity and legacy building is just as influential to your wellbeing as it is for the world at large.
