Do You Want To Be Batman? Because This Is How You Can Be Batman.

We have previously visited the topic of rogue philanthropy here and here, and this topic really resonated with many of the readers of this newsletter. I am glad I had the itch to write about it, because even if just one person grabbed the philanthropic bull by the horns and donated a nickel to someone’s “help me pay for my kidney transplant", it served its purpose. So let’s pour some gasoline on the embers.

Here’s the thing most charity porn won’t tell you: You don’t need a non-profit. You don’t need a board. You don’t need a brand deck. You don’t need a fucking hashtag. And you don’t need some bullshit messaging to go along with it making it feel like it’s some dumb ass after school special or youth group garbage.

You just need a pulse, a dollar, and the gall to quietly rewrite someone’s story.

There’s this myth that only billionaires get to be benevolent. That you need a tax shelter, a gala, or a fleet of assistants to “make an impact.” That the only way to matter is to make it a spectacle. That you gotta stand on a stage with a novelty-sized check and a smirk. But that’s just legacy laundering.

Rogue philanthropy gives Stone Cold Steve Austin-style middle fingers on all that. Rogue philanthropy is finding a GoFundMe for a woman trying to bury her child and clearing the rest of the balance on a random Tuesday at 2 a.m. Rogue philanthropy is sliding a cashier a $100 bill when you overhear someone say they can’t cover their groceries.

Rogue philanthropy is moving in silence, like grief, like ghosts. And I am giving you the opportunity to validate that voice in the back of your head that says “yeah, I’m onboard with this whole rogue philanthropy thing!” by posting real life versions of the examples above here (make sure to have a box of tissues handy) and here. You have a real opportunity to make those two recipients restore faith in humanity (or boost it if they never lost it).

It’s ugly. It’s real. It’s not photo-ready. And that’s what makes it sacred. It should also give you a hell of a rush. Especially those of you who can afford to pay those two examples above in full. If you’ve ever blown over $500 in a hand of blackjack and you are reading this - guess what? I am calling you out.

Remember what is covered in the other posts about this topic. Do not give with the expectation of what you think they should do with the money. Do not judge whether or not they are out to scam you out of your money. If they really are (and bypass the bullshit detectors built into gofundme), it’s on them, not you. But by all accounts, they are grieving. Full stop, end of story. They all had to come to terms with their pride and post on gofundme to ask for help.

Here’s what happens when no one knows it was you:

You don’t get praise. You don’t get followers. You don’t get your ego stroked.

You just get a moment—pure, motherfucking unfiltered humanity—between you and the universe. And in that moment, you’re God in work boots. You’re divine in disguise. For those who believe in a higher power, you are doing exactly what your book tells you to do. You’re the plot twist in someone else’s despair. You’re fucking Batman swooping in out of the shadows to beat the snot out of someone who just mugged someone only to disappear immediately without being thanked. 

The beauty is no one will write about it. No one has to. So if you’re still waiting to be rich enough to help people, I got some news for you: you’re late to the party. But the party isn’t stopping anytime soon and everyone is glad you showed up.

The world is on fire now. People are drowning now. And the $10 you were going to blow on a Carmel Bullshitccino could be the lifeline.

You want to feel something real? Skip the likes. Skip the glory. Do something invisible. Then shut the fuck up.

If you have the means, pay the bill. Vanish. Repeat.

The world doesn’t need more influencers. It needs more ghosts with gold in their hands.

If this post made you take action (even if it was just to improve someone’s condition by a nickel), please share this far and wide. This concept needs to take major flight and become a cultural phenomenon in a time of ::gestures broadly at everything going on::