The Money Song from the great American musical «Avenue Q» proclaimed, «When you help others, you can’t help helping yourself!» The song is about the importance of giving money charitably, not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes you feel like a good person. It’s the deep, dark secret of charity and, in some ways, the most obvious fact about it: people aren’t giving purely out of the goodness of their hearts. There are many other factors at play, and a great deal can be gained from being publicly gracious. 

Even though some people give selfishly, many want to give out of the goodness of their hearts, rather than as a means to an end of being praised publicly. They genuinely want to do good and feel that the gazes of others detracts from the act of giving itself. Many museums and opera houses have benefactors who donate over a million dollars, listed simply as «Anonymous» at the top of their donor list, even though they could easily claim some of the glory of giving to that cultural institution more than anyone else.