Taylor Swift was back in the UK for the final leg of her Eras tour this weekend after making headlines for giving away enough money to cover the food bills for an entire year across 11 food banks and community pantries in Liverpool.
This is an amazing public display of generosity, and she has bettered the lives of thousands of people among the UK's poorest. But it can reinforce the impression many people have that only rich people can give generously, at least financially.
I'm 52 and I live in social housing in London with my wife. I earn a low income, work multiple jobs and am a deacon at a local church where we regularly give our time, and money. Our financial situation means that we cannot always give consistent amounts, but we always make sure that we have enough saved so that we can give something.
When I was growing up, my father was very active in raising money on Poppy Day for the Royal British Legion. He was the local organiser in our community for the appeal and when he passed away, I decided that I would take over and do the same thing, which I did for several years.
Since then, I have been inspired to support a range of causes such as Macmillan Cancer Support because of close friends who have been helped by them. Seeing the difference that such charities have made in their lives and in the lives of those who are in much harder situations than my own has, along with my Christian faith, instilled a sense of responsibility that I should do my part too.
Living towards the lower earning end of the spectrum does mean that giving financially is always a sacrifice; every time I consider giving, I have to think about our upcoming bills, keeping the car running, ensuring that no debt is accumulating, and budgeting for any future holiday plans. Things that people like Taylor Swift do not have to think about. But I have found that being generous, and giving money away, is worth it.
I remember having a conversation when we were on a holiday in Bournemouth speaking to some people from the lifeboat institution down there. And that inspired us because we were due at that time to switch our charities from the ones we had been giving to. We decided there and then to put the RNLI on our list, if only for a finite amount of time, and we have felt a strong sense of satisfaction and joy ever since.
While the biggest barrier to giving more financially for anyone in my position is obviously affordability, my personal connections to charitable causes and the trust I have in the charities I give to is a huge influence. This is reflected in Stewardship's inaugural Generosity Report – launched in June – that found those who trust the causes they support are likely to be more generous to all causes. Similarly, their research found that the main barriers to giving were feeling unable to afford to give and a lack of trust that donations would be used well.
I tend to trust charities that are well established and have a paper trail that demonstrates to me that their methods work, whether its digging wells in Africa or finding homes for the homeless, and at the end of the day I give what feels right to me.
I know I cannot compete with Taylor Swift when it comes to how much I give, but generosity isn't about quantity, it's about mindset, and I'm grateful that I'm able to give the little that I can to help make the world a better place. Imagine what would happen if we were all able to do the same.
Philip is a deacon at a London church.
