Giving back to the community may give you more happiness.

Dr. Michael Morris, executive director of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises at Syracuse University, has spoken at Iowa State almost every month this month on the topic of entrepreneurship.

During Monday’s visit, Morris brought his colleague, Arthur Brooks, professor of public administration and director of the non-profit studies program at Syracuse, to give this month’s lecture.

“Arthur is, to me, one of the brightest lights in the country today in terms of what we’re trying to do in the field of entrepreneurship and where we’re trying to take the entrepreneurship field,” Morris said. “And where we’re trying to take it, quite simply, is to bring entrepreneurial thinking and the entrepreneurial mindset across campuses.”

Brooks has worked in economics and philanthropy, and through these has become one of the national experts on issues that encourage philanthropic behavior in the world today.

“In a logical progression from working on philanthropy and why other people give, I think this led him to entrepreneurship; specifically to this domain we call social entrepreneurship that wherein, he has emerged as one of the true leaders today,” Morris said.

Brooks recently published a book titled, “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism,” which discusses the giving and non-giving population of America and why there is a divide.

“Its a timely book that questions many of our basic assumptions about not just giving and philanthropy, but the whole nature of human behavior and life happenings,” Morris said.

Brooks began his lecture by speaking on how entrepreneurship and charitable giving correspond.

“Generally speaking, when we think about giving, we don’t think about entrepreneurship,” Brooks said. “We think about entrepreneurship and we think about starting a business and being innovative within a business. You don’t think about the transfers; the gifts you will make.”

Brooks gave some of his ideas on why Americans have such a high quality of life.

“What I’m going to argue today is one of the reasons the United States is a phenomenally successful country, such an amazingly happy place and what having such a high quality of life has to do with how we give and that giving is truly part of the entrepreneurial innovative culture,” Brooks said.

Brooks said the concept, “if you earn more, you give more,” is simple. However, according to his research, when you give more, you get more too. There’s a virtuous cycle of giving and earning, donations and prosperity.

“One of the things you find, at the individual level: Giving families realize, over the long run, about a 4 to 1 income return on the money they give away,” Brooks said. “It changes you, somehow, to be a giver. You’re part of a different society when you’re a giver, and its going to make you more successful. That suggests that charitable giving is a good investment strategy.”

Brooks cites the example of successful entrepreneurs that have done just this. An example he used was John D. Rockefeller, who was giving before he had any money at all during his tenure as a clerk in Cleveland.

“That’s quite typical of entrepreneurs,” Brooks said. “They give and they believe that as part of their investment strategy. It’s also good to aggregate that to the national level. When Americans give, all Americans benefit.”

Brooks told the audience to look at how past values of giving predict future values of our gross domestic product. Since 1956, the country has seen 150 percent real growth in GDP per capita. Since that time, the real growth in average household charity has increased by 190 percent.

“That’s good news. That says that not only are we getting richer, but we’re sharing more and more of that,” Brooks said.

“We’re giving more and more as time goes on, and there is no comparison between the United States and other countries in terms of private charitable giving.”

Brooks said if the United States was to increase private charitable giving by 1 percent, that would lead to a $39 billion increase in our GDP.

“In fact, charitable giving is not just a good investment strategy for individuals, its a patriotic act. It’s part of how we stay rich,” he said.

Brooks spoke as part of the Helen LeBaron Hilton Endowed Chair program in the College of Human Sciences.

“Arthur is all about what the 21st century is about, and that is innovation, change, optimism and possibilities,” Morris said.