FROM THE EDITOR: Giving Is a Core Value that We Should All Agree on
Philanthropy should be a core value that brings communities together, especially now when the federal government is forcing localities to be more self-reliant.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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The year ahead is not looking to be an easy one for the country. From changes to Medicaid funding and reduced federal funds for hunger programs, to major shifts in federal funding for housing programs and reductions to scientific research, 2026 is shaping up to be one in which localities will have to look at caring for their own in ways they haven’t in decades.
Here’s the good news. America has one of the most diverse nonprofit sectors in the world. There are more than 1.8 million nonprofits in the U.S., and some 58,000 in Virginia according to the Internal Revenue Service.
Further, we are a generous people. According to Giving USA, in 2024 total giving in the U.S. exceeded $592 Billion, with $392 Billion being contributed by individuals.
What drives all this generosity? There is no simple answer to this question. However, one doesn’t have to look far in our community to see the impact of generosity there — from the very small, to the very large.
Philanthropy at the Fence
Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church has found an innovative use for its historic wrought-iron fence. In an email to the Advance, the church said that it “uses its century-plus year-old wrought iron fencing for the Community Clothesline to provide socks, scarves, gloves and other winter necessities to anyone who might need the item.”
The motivation is certainly grounded in the church’s faith ethos, but it’s not limited to church members. The church noted that “those who pass by have made significant contributions. Indeed, this is a community effort as well as a church mission.”
Philanthropy at Scale
On Saturday, the Fredericksburg Food Bank held its fifth-annual turkey give-away, an event that requires an all-hands-on-deck commitment for the Food Bank’s staff, as well as the efforts of over 100 volunteers.
Grocery stores, individuals, small businesses and more pulled together to provide enough food for 51,000 meals. The reasons that brought them there were as diverse as the needs that brought people to the event for help.
For some, such work grows from a life-time commitment to serving in the community, for others it’s a part of the corporate ethos, while for others it’s their life’s work.
Moreover, the Food bank leverages volunteers 365 days a year to help care for those in need. Again, why people volunteer their time or donate their money varies greatly. What matters in the cause.
Corporate giving is another major driver of giving in our community.
At last week’s Chamber of Commerce event, which convened to name the Laurie A Wideman award winners, a silent auction was held to benefit the nonprofit of the year, Loisann’s Hope House.
The motivations for the business people to attend the event and give? Likely as varied as the people who attend.
The Motivations for Giving Are Legion
At a time when few things bring people together, charitable giving should be something that everyone can agree is for the common good.
For that reason, it was concerning that at last week’s Planning Commission meeting in Fredericksburg, a few individuals used a debate over the Commission’s vote to recommend or not recommend the Gateway Data Center Project to City Council — the Planning Commission voted not to recommend the project — to criticize a $1 million gift to Friends of the Rappahannock from Amazon and Stack Infrastructure (Stack Infrastructure is a corporate donor to the Advance).
“These tech industries,” wrote one commentor, “do not have the city and its people’s best interest in mind when they come in and wave money around to environmental organizations like Friends of the Rappahannock.”
While data centers are a contested issue in this community, it’s important that we remain careful about both who we cast as outsiders, and the charges we level against individuals’ and groups’ motivations for philanthropic giving.
There are a wide range of motivations for giving.
One reason individuals in the United States give as generously as we do — 60% of all philanthropic giving in the country is by individuals — is that the U.S. tax code has been explicitly structured to encourage people to be generous supporters of their communities.
That individuals receive tax write-offs for their gifts does not negate the gift’s impact, nor necessarily call into question any individual’s motivation — that, after all, is something only the individual truly knows.
It is no different with corporate donations.
Do Amazon and Stack receive tax benefits for their charitable gifts? Certainly. It’s also not unlikely that they hope this helps citizens view them as good corporate citizens.
The exact same thing can be said of the grocery stores who gave so generously on Saturday at the Food Bank event, however. Should we question their motivations? No. The stores and its employees are part of this community, too, and as such have a stake in ensuring that people have enough to eat.
Amazon and Stack are part of our community and have a stake in the health of the river and water supplies in general. What would raise eyebrows would be if these companies did not want to support the work of the organization that has done more than any other to protect and strengthen the Rappahannock for future generations.
Further, consider how the funds are being used.
In 2025, the Friends of the Rappahannock was one of many environmental organizations across the country negatively affected by cuts in government spending. Executive Director Daria Christian of FOR told the Advance at the event announcing the gift that the funds will allow the organization to “stabilize our pillar programs,” one of which suffered a significant setback when federal government cuts took away $85,000 from the NOAA Bay-Watershed Education Training program.
Other practical plans for the money, as the Advance reported, include completing the refurbishing on FOR’s building along Fall Hill Avenue, where some 8,000 school children and adults come each year to learn about the river, its environment, and its importance for the region. And buying a much-needed new truck.
Bill Micks, who is lovingly called FOR’s “Godfather” did the best job of putting the Amazon and Stack gift in context.
“I never dreamed FOR would become all this,” he told the Advance. But he’s not surprised, either. “It’s about protecting the river,” he continued. When people volunteer and educate and celebrate this treasure, “good things happen.”
We Are in This Together
With changes in the way the federal government interacts with and supports local communities, it’s vital that in 2026 we appreciate the totality of our community.
Fueling suspicion of philanthropic giving — be it major corporations investing in Friends of the Rappahannock, grocery stores giving donating food to the Food Bank, or any of the thousands of ways people give to our community every day — will only divide us at a time we can least afford to be divided.
It is going to take all of us pulling in the same direction to keep this community strong. For today, and for the generations to come.
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Really? Another shill editorial for the Data Center industry? You have lost all credibility.
No Marty, sadly, you're wrong.
Yes it's nice that people are giving this time of year, and when they see a need. Good for them. I join them on occasion.
Habitat for Humanity is one of my favorite charities, the Salvation Army is the next. I'm strongly considering donating to the Rappahannock Farm next year if my time allows.
But that most certainly does not mean that our whole system should not be questioned. Now, more than ever.
So your basic premises, that we should accept this as the best thing for the common good is one that I strongly question, and consider very open to debate.
You blithely touch on some of the reasons yourself. Though I would posit they warrant a deeper look.
Let's look at some of "giving" that we do.
In Stafford County, we have state mandated "giving" to disabled veterans of tax free personal property taxes. That leads to the rest of us paying their burden for services they enjoy. Often though the disabled veteran may have a higher amount of assets or net income each year than the non-disabled citizen required to support him.
With plausible reports from sources such as the WaPo and the Veteran's Administration itself of unchecked and unquestioned abuses of that designation of disability - it seems the possibility of abuse is there.
Regardless, this "giving" is resulting in some of the highest property rates for the rest of us of anyone in the state.
How many organizations such as churches enjoy tax-free status when the funds coming into them are allowing them to compete against private entities that do not enjoy tax free status while providing the same services - such as child care, community meeting space rentals, gyms, restaurants? And can also slip in sub-legal wages to their employees by claiming that requiring them to pay minimum wage is interference between the church and state?
Not to mention how many of these "non-profits" enjoy tax free status for their lands where these business activities happen. Or use their non-profit fund raising and charity status to launder money used to influence the political process? How many non-profit organizations such as hospitals use their advantage to shield for profit activities?
Then, as mentioned by you, what about the "donors"?
Interesting, when similar news organizations, such as Cardinal News reports on an item that affects a donor source, it has a disclaimer about that someone donating to them as you do, but they also add, as a matter of policy, and it appears practice - a notice not only of the fact of the donation, but that they have a clear policy that such donations do not influence their content. WaPo seems to do the same thing. Appears to be an industry standard.
Why is there no similar disclaimer here? Oversight, or something that is not policy?
And yes, I can see legitimate reasons to question reasons for giving on occasion.
When someone who is angling to gain your water rights starts providing sudden, over the top giving to news organizations that might be reporting on their actions, or non-profits that are vested in the asset they may be taking/controlling - it is reasonable to question why.
But more important than all of that, is this.
Is it working?
By that, I mean the system as a whole.
The rest of the 1st world and most of the 2nd world provides some form of basic, nationalized health care to their citizens.
It's not only considered a basic right, but a sound investment.
Their citizens don't spend every year worrying about whether they need to kiss up to their boss to make sure their 3 year old can get his vaccinations this month, because if they lose their job they lose their family's healthcare.
Or if their house will be repossessed because they needed heart surgery last month. Why do we accept such things?
They don't see billions wasted on middle men gaming the maze of special interest loopholes and regulations that is only found here.
So is providing blind support to such a system where if you do or do not get a kidney transplant is based more upon whether you're photogenic or well connected enough to have a good Go-Fund_Me" page the way to go, or can we do better?
I think we can. I think we should. But we won't until we quit accepting the current status quo.
Should whether our military get paid depend upon if a flush billionaire wants to part with a few millions to make sure they stay loyal to the right kind of people, or should they be paid by taxpayers as decided by law?
I know that when past civilizations started letting private citizens buy their military, they found that military loyal to that individual over the state. So I'm not so sure allowing such "giving" is wise. Looks more like "buying" to me.
You often spout about how poorly we teach our children.
And I ask what are we teaching them when we divvy up life by how popular someone is, or how well they beg rather than what will do the most good for a limited amount of resources?
Certainly not the value of life. But the rather value of popularity. Is that really how we should do distribution of limited assets?
If so, then no wonder we are a nation led by the likes of Trump.
So is the best way to meet our citizens' food needs by providing photo ops on the giving holidays - so everyone can feel good about seeing it the best way - or we would be better just quietly making sure that no kid has to be hungry while they are sitting in class - or for that matter - no parent has to worry about feeding their kid any month - because we see their children as valuable to all of us, not just them?
Is this play for attention by organizations truly giving, or are they getting something in return?
As a Christian, I can't help but be informed by how similar these actions are to praying and then think of Matthew 6:5:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward."
With that in mind, it's hard to be too impressed by these annual photo ops. Like the man says, they're getting their reward.
We often ask why our children have such contempt for our ideals. Maybe what we should instead be asking what are our ideals?
I know what we say, but when you look at what we do, it's not the same thing.
So maybe we ought to go back to some of these basic premises that we are taking as givens and look at them again.
You give platitudes, and present them as answers.
But I see questions. I think we can do better. I think we should do better.
Others have and do. Why not us?
Answer me that and I'll be glad to hear it.
In the mean time, Merry Christmas.