The front page of a special section on “Giving” in the New York Times (December 9, 1997) featured a photograph that in many ways symbolizes the polarities involved with understanding people’s generosity. The photograph’s sub-headline captured well the dynamic: “From the Heart: Ted Turner gave a lot —$1 billion. Oseola McCarty gave her all-a life’s savings of $150,000.” McCarty’s gift is in many ways the more fascinating of the gifts because of its sacrificial nature. It was her gift to the University of Southern Mississippi that inspired Turner’s gift to the United Nations and many other act of generosity. As many of the stories about McCarty’s life detailed, she had been a washerwoman and lived in what most Americans would consider to be utter poverty, all the while amassing a nest egg of over $150,000. In preparation for her own death, McCarty decided to donate her life’s savings to a nearby university (which she never attended) for a scholarship fund earmarked for students who had financial difficulties.