MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Inflation has had consequences for the entire economy, including charities. With some short on disposable income to give. But here in Memphis, those living in the city are as generous now as they were prior to the rising cost of living.
After trailing Salt Lake City, the last time rankings were revealed, Memphis broke into the top spot in 2017, spurred by increased giving to the public-school system. The report shows Memphians give 5.6 percent of their overall income to charitable causes. That number is up from 5.1 percent in 2014, the last time the study was released.
“I just think it’s a part of our DNA," Truth Generation Church pastor Kenneth Cunningham said. "That southern hospitality; not wanting to see your brother suffer. Even though that narrative surrounding us seems as though suffering we cause each other.”
Pastor Cunningham says he's witnessed firsthand the instinct towards generosity and investing in the community. He says it has allowed his church to fulfill one of its foundational pillars.
“It’s [really] easy to discern what they need, and the communication is open," Cunningham said. "I didn’t have that much freedom with outreach when I was in Arkansas, we attempted. But the effectiveness of it, we’ve seen it in the city of Memphis more so. I think because the need is there and because the resources are here."
From feeding the homeless to giving away school supplies it is giving that Apostle Cunningham says is a mutual benefit for both the giver and the receiver.
When asked “what would you like to remind people as it concerns that principle of giving?”
"It’s better to give than receive," Cunningham said. "The one who’s giving is in a position that the one who’s receiving is not. Which means I have a resource; I possess something that qualified me to transfer it to you and now you possess what I once had, and you can do the same thing. I positioned you to be a giver. So, givers create other givers.”