Americans can be generous. Annual charitable giving in this country exceeds $260 billion, which is greater than the economy of Denmark, South Africa or Greece.
Few of those dollars, however, are given without credit. Not quite 1 percent of givers in this country donate anonymously.
So it was deliciously astonishing when the University of Chicago announced Wednesday that it had received the largest charitable pledge in state history -- $100 million -- from a benefactor who wished to remain anonymous.
The money will provide full scholarships for about 800 students each year whose family incomes are less than $60,000. Another 400 students with family incomes below $75,000 will have their loans replaced by grants.
What we know about the donor is that he hailed from a modest background but was not forced to rely on financial assistance to get through college. His life, he said in a written statement, was transformed by his experience at the University of Chicago. "I am giving this gift to the University of Chicago because I believe it had a profound effect on my life and in particular on allowing me to survive untold failures and persevere in mad adventures that have rewarded me with the financial resources to make this gift."
Those mad adventures may have conferred wisdom about how to accumulate money. Maybe, too, they instructed about giving wisely -- and shrewdly. It strikes us that wielding vast sums of money, and giving vast sums, can be a complicated headache.
Make one generous donation, and watch the stampede approach with arms outstretched. Expect the sudden ingratiation of distant friends and relatives, cloying flattery by development officers.
The University of Chicago donor's legacy will not be that his name prominently welcomes all who enter a sparkling new building or stadium that he bought. This gesture offers no distractions from two profound messages, one intentional and one perhaps less intentional.
Message one: Higher education can be transformative; it should be accessible to all.
Message two: Each person's future is linked to someone else's past. It's good to give back.
This gift appears to be given not for the fanfare accorded its donor but, simply, because it makes the world a better place.
