A Generous Life

A posthumously published collection of wide-ranging essays by Karoff, an innovator in the field of philanthropy.

In 1989, the author founded The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI), an organization devoted to helping clients charitably donate more strategically. Giving, he avers in this book, is more than the sum of its mechanics—it’s a spiritual calling, a grand “wake-up call,” and the expression of a deep passion. Karoff taught others how to establish a profoundly personal connection to their charitable efforts, and to see philanthropy as a concrete “translation of values to the practice of values.” On a societal level, he envisioned an “open-source philanthropy,” which he defines here as “more effective systems of collective social action” with “less segmentation of issues and more holistic ways of solving problems.” Editor Marble, who worked for TPI, has gathered an eclectic assemblage of essays by the author, who died in 2017; the pieces offer an expansive interpretation of the meaning of philanthropic activity. The author was literarily inclined, and these short works, all composed over the last quarter-century, include his own poems, references to William Butler Yeats and Aristotle, and philosophical discussions of the nature of wealth and generosity. Marble asserts that this collection is not a “how-to manual,” but rather a “dreamer’s guide,” and to some extent, she’s right; in these pages, Karoff never hides his idealistic desire to “make the world a better place,” and unabashedly valorizes the “magic of philanthropy.” However, he does also dispense a considerable amount of actionable counsel about efficient charitable giving. Moreover, he squarely acknowledges the “pressure of reality” and the corresponding danger of naïveté: “From the outset, it is clear that you cannot ‘magic’ away the critical problems facing the world,” he notes. “One of TPI’s operating premises is that ‘social change is incremental at best.’ Thus the waving of wands doesn’t do it.” Overall, these essays are as instructional and insightful as they are inspirational.

An eclectic and stimulating attempt to create a “new language” around charitable efforts.