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Philanthropy in the United States has long played a major role, from the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...
of early Massachusetts who founded
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
down to the present day. Since the late
19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolis ...
, philanthropy has been a major source of income for religion, medicine and health care, fine arts and performing arts, and educational institutions. America is considered to be the most generous country in the world over the decade until December 2019.


Colonial era


Established and voluntary religion

Taxes from local and colonial government supported the established churches in New England, which were Congregational, and in the South, which were Anglican. A much faster rate of growth appeared in entirely voluntary religious denominations, especially the Methodists and Baptists, and among the Presbyterians especially on the frontier. German and Dutch immigrants supported their Reformed churches in Pennsylvania and New York without tax money. The first corporation founded in the
13 Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centuri ...
was
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
(1636), designed primarily to them train young men for the clergy. A leading theorist was the Puritan theologian
Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...
(1662-1728), who in 1710 published a widely read essay, ''Bonifacius, or an Essay to Do Good.'' Mather worried that the original idealism had eroded, so he advocated philanthropic benefaction as a way of life. Though his context was Christian, his idea was also characteristically American and explicitly Classical, on the threshold of the Enlightenment. :Let no man pretend to the Name of A Christian, who does not Approve the proposal of A Perpetual Endeavour to Do Good in the World.… The Christians who have no Ambition to be seful Shall be condemned by the Pagans; among whom it was a Term of the Highest Honour, to be termed, A Benefactor; to have Done Good, was accounted Honourable. The Philosopher .e., Aristotle being asked why Every one desired so much to look upon a Fair Object! He answered That it was a Question of a Blind man. If any man ask, as wanting the Sense of it, What is it worth the while to Do Good in the world! I must Say, It Sounds not like the Question of a Good man. Mather's many practical suggestions for doing good had strong civic emphases—founding schools, libraries, hospitals, useful publications, etc. They were not primarily about rich people helping poor people, but about private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life. Two young Americans whose prominent lives, they later said, were influenced by Mather's book, were Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere.


Ethnic and religious groups

Voluntary charitable organizations established by ethnic and religious groups, for their own people, originated in the colonial era and grew much stronger in the 19th century. As assimilation took place most of the European groups merged into a general "American" population; the ethnic charitable societies sharply declined by 1900. Minority ethnic groups and races that did not amalgamate extensively continued their separate operations, as did religious charities into the 21st century. The Puritans of New England and the Quakers Of Pennsylvania were the pioneers before 1700 in establishing charitable institutions, philanthropic operations, and their own schools. Eventually most of the many religious denominations set up charitable institutions as well as their own seminaries or colleges. The first ethnic group to mobilize served as a model for many others – it was the
Scots Charitable Society of Boston The Scots Charitable Society (est.1657) of Boston, Massachusetts, was established to provide relief for local, "needy Scot people, after proper investigation." It "enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Scots society in America." It "became the ...
, started in 1657. In 1754 the Episcopal Charitable Society of Boston Was oriented toward recent English immigrants. In 1768, the Charitable Irish Society of Boston opened for Irish Protestants. Eventually German and French immigrants set up their own benevolent societies.


Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
(1706 – 1790) was an activist and theorist of American philanthropy. He was much influenced by
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
's ''An essay upon projects'' (1697) and Mather's ''Bonifacius''. Franklin specialized in motivating his fellow Philadelphians into projects for the betterment of the city. As a young tradesman in 1727, he formed the "
Junto Junto may refer to: * Whig Junto (c. 1700), English political leaders' group, that began to dominate the ministry from 1693 and held onto power intermittently until 1717 when members of the group fell out * Junto (club) The Junto, also known as ...
": a 12-member club that met weekly to consider current issues and needs. One of the qualifications for membership was the "love fmankind in general". In 1729 he founded a weekly newspaper the ''Philadelphia Gazette'', and for the next thirty years he used the Junto as a sort of think-tank to generate and vet philanthropic ideas, and the ''Gazette'' to test and mobilize public support, recruit volunteers, and fund-raise. His system led to the creation of America's first subscription library (1731), a volunteer fire association, a fire insurance association, (1752—through fundraising with a challenge grant), the paving and patrolling of public streets, the finance and construction of a civic meeting house, and many others. A world-class physicist himself, he promoted scientific organizations including the Philadelphia Academy (1751)--which became the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
– as well as the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
(1743) to enable scientific researchers from all 13 colonies to communicate. Fellow diplomat
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
reported that in France "there was scarcely a peasant or citizen" who "did not consider him as a friend to humankind."


19th century

The new nation had weak national, state and local governments. A strong civil society was built by Volunteers in a culture of collaboration. French observer
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
called them, "voluntary associations." They permeated American life, as a distinguishing feature of the American character and culture, they were the key to American democracy. Americans, he said, did not rely on others—government, an aristocracy, or the church—to solve their public problems; rather, they did it themselves, through voluntary associations, which is to say, philanthropy, which was characteristically democratic. Important American philanthropists of the first half of the 19th century ere
Gerrit Smith Gerrit Smith (March 6, 1797 – December 28, 1874), also spelled Gerritt Smith, was a leading American social reformer, abolitionist, businessman, public intellectual, and philanthropist. Married to Ann Carroll Fitzhugh, Smith was a candidat ...
and the industrialist
Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...
and to a lesser extent his brother
Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
.


George Peabody

By the 1820s, newly rich American businessmen were establishing philanthropic work, especially with respect to private colleges and hospitals.
George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...
(1795-1869), a merchant and banker based in Baltimore and London, became the father of modern philanthropy. Historian
Roderick Nash Roderick Frazier Nash is a professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. He was the first person to descend the Tuolumne River using a raft. Scholarly biography Nash received his Bache ...
argues that Peabody was a disciple of Benjamin Franklin, who joined hard work with frugality, punctuality, and a strong public spirit. Peabody was a pioneer, whose success in philanthropy set the standard for American millionaires in a way that was unique in the world. Philanthropy in Europe typically came from old aristocrat families with vast inherited wealth who built palaces and museums that were eventually opened to the public. The American way was for the self-made millionaires to become self-made philanthropists, a model that was perfected in the next generation by
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
(1835-1919) and
John D Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered List of richest Americans in history, the wealthiest American of all time and the List of wealthi ...
(1839-1937). They agreed with Peabody that riches produced a duty to give most of it back to the community through specialized permanent foundations. Peabody was especially imaginative – and relied on his own memories of poverty and self learning to figure new ways to educate and culturally enrich the next generation of poor youth, and thereby promote more equality in American society.
Jacksonian democracy Jacksonian democracy was a 19th-century political philosophy in the United States that expanded suffrage to most white men over the age of 21, and restructured a number of federal institutions. Originating with the seventh U.S. president, And ...
promoted equality in politics; he promoted equality and culture through libraries, schools, museums and colleges. He rejected doling out bundles of cash to the poor as a waste of money in comparison to building permanent institutions that produced a steady stream of benefits. His last great benefaction was the Peabody Education Fund, which had a dramatic impact in improving southern public schools. It was the first major philanthropy that gave large sums to very poor Blacks on the same terms as whites, albeit within the strict limits imposed by Southern culture regarding racial segregation and white supremacy. Even more important was the institutional framework that Peabody devised, of a permanent professional foundation, run by experts in philanthropy, who were guided by and indeed invented the best practices of the day.


Jewish philanthropy

In the mid-19th century, German Jewish immigrants operated businesses and financial institutions in cities across the country. They set up extensive charitable institutions, generously giving money and volunteer time of charity a high prestige activity. After 1920 the newer Yiddish-speaking Jewish community centered in New York City became active in philanthropy.


Local millionaires

By the late 19th century, about a third of the successful local businessman were making philanthropic donations. Albert Shaw editor of the magazine '' American Review of Reviews'' in 1893 examined philanthropic activities of millionaires in several major cities. The highest rate was Baltimore where 49% of the millionaires were active givers; New York City ranked last. Cincinnati millionaires favored musical and artistic ventures; Minneapolis millionaires gave to the state university and the public library; Philadelphians often gave to overseas relief, and the education of blacks and Indians. Boston had a weak profile, apart from donations to Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital. Railroad leaders seldom focused on local issues, since they had responsibility for much larger territories. They approve the work of the railroad YMCAs in uplifting the labor force, though they seldom gave them any corporate money. One exception came in 1882 when the president of the Illinois Central Railroad provided a salary of $50 a month for six months for a YMCA Evangelist in Cairo, Illinois, hoping "he will be able to accomplish some good in that ungodly place." Executives rarely used the railroad's financial resources for philanthropic goals. Occasionally they donated land for public schools or colleges, assuming it would have a positive impact on the selling price of their nearby lands.


Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
(1835–1919) was the most influential leader of philanthropy on a national (rather than local) scale. After selling his giant steel company in the 1890s he devoted himself to establishing philanthropic organizations, and making direct contributions to many educational cultural and research institutions. His final and largest project was the
Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
, founded in 1911 with a $25 million endowment, later enlarged to $135 million. In all he gave away $350 million, or 90% of his fortune. The establishment of
public libraries A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamenta ...
in the United States, Britain, and in dominions and colonies of the British Empire started a legacy that still operates on a daily basis for millions of people. The first Carnegie library opened in 1883 in Dunfermline, Scotland. His method was to build and stock a modern library, on condition that the local authority provided site and keep it in operation. In 1885, he gave $500,000 to Pittsburgh for a public library, and in 1886, he gave $250,000 to Allegheny City for a music hall and library, and $250,000 to
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland, for a free library. In total Carnegie gave $55 million to some 3,000 libraries, in 47 American states and overseas. As VanSlyck (1991) shows, the last years of the 19th century saw acceptance of the idea that libraries should be available to the American public free of charge. However the design of the idealized free library was at the center of a prolonged and heated debate. On one hand, the library profession called for designs that supported efficiency in administration and operation; on the other, wealthy philanthropists favored buildings that reinforced the paternalistic metaphor and enhanced civic pride. Between 1886 and 1917, Carnegie reformed both library philanthropy and library design, encouraging a closer correspondence between the two. Using the corporation as his model, Carnegie introduced many of the philanthropic practices of the modern foundation. At the same time, he rejected the rigid social and spatial hierarchy of the 19th-century library. In over 1,600 buildings that he funded and in hundreds of others influenced by its forms, Carnegie helped create an American public library type that embraced the planning principles espoused by librarians while extending a warmer welcome to the reading public. There was some opposition, for example in Canada where anti-American and labour spokesman opposed his libraries, in fear of the influence of a powerful American, and in protest against his breaking a strike in 1892. Carnegie was in fact transforming his wealth into cultural power independent of Governmental or political controls. However he transcended national boundaries – he identified so much with Britain that at one point he thought of running for Parliament. In Canada and Britain he worked with like-minded local intellectual and cultural leaders who shared his basic values to promote an urgently needed Canadian or British cultural, intellectual, and educational infrastructure. In those countries, the rich industrialists rarely supported national philanthropy. He also set up numerous permanent foundations, especially in pursuit of world peace, such as the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington D.C. with operations in Europe, South and East Asia, and the Middle East as well as the United States. Founded in ...
formed in 1910 with a $10 million endowment. In ''
Gospel of Wealth "Wealth", more commonly known as "The Gospel of Wealth", is an article written by Andrew Carnegie in June of 1889 that describes the responsibility of philanthropy by the new upper class of self-made rich. The article was published in the ''No ...
'' (1889), Carnegie proselytized the rich about their responsibilities to society. His homily had an enormous influence in its day, and into the 21st century. One early disciple was
Phoebe Hearst Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson Hearst (December 3, 1842 – April 13, 1919) was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. Hearst was the founder of the University of California Museum of Anthropology, now called the Phoebe A. Hearst Mus ...
, wife of the founder of the Hearst dynasty in San Francisco. She expanded the Carnegie approach to include women declaring that leisured women had a sacred duty to give to causes, especially progressive education and reform, that would benefit their communities, help those excluded or marginalized from America's mainstream, and advance women's careers as reformers and political leaders.


1900 to 1980

Prominent American philanthropists of the early 20th century were John D. Rockefeller and his son,
Julius Rosenwald Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions in ...
(1862-1932) and
Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, known as Olivia Sage (September 8, 1828 – November 4, 1918), was an American philanthropist known for her contributions to education and progressive causes. In 1869 she became the second wife of robber baron Russel ...
(1828-1918).


Rockefeller network

The senior
John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
(1839-1937) retired from business in the 1890s; he and his son
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...
(1874-1960) made large-scale national philanthropy systematic especially regarding the study and application of modern medicine, higher, education and scientific research. Of the $530 million the elder Rockefeller gave away, $450 million went to medicine. Their top advisor
Frederick Taylor Gates Frederick Taylor Gates (July 22, 1853, Maine, NY, Maine, Broome County, New York – February 6, 1929, Phoenix, Arizona) was an American Baptist clergyman, educator, and the principal business and philanthropic advisor to the major oil industriali ...
designed several very large philanthropies that were staffed by experts who designed ways to attack problems systematically rather than let the recipients decide how to deal with the problem. One of the largest of the Rockefeller philanthropies was the
General Education Board The General Education Board was a private organization which was used primarily to support higher education and medical schools in the United States, and to help rural white and black schools in the South, as well as modernize farming practices i ...
which focused on higher education medical school, and Uplift of the poverty-stricken rural South, both black and white. It funded rural schools, helped modernize farming practices, and work hard to eradicate
hookworm Hookworms are intestinal, blood-feeding, parasitic roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with poor access to adequate water, sanitation, an ...
. It promoted the county agent system run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that brought research from state
agricultural experiment station An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with f ...
s into actual operation on millions of farms. Rockefeller gave it $180 million starting in 1903. Its head Frederick Gates envisioned "The Country School of To-Morrow," wherein "young and old will be taught in practicable ways how to make rural life beautiful, intelligent, fruitful, recreative, healthful, and joyous." By 1934 the Board was making grants of $5.5 million a year. It spent nearly all its money by 1950 and closed in 1964.


Hoover in Europe

The
Commission for Relief in Belgium The Commission for Relief in Belgium or C.R.B. − known also as just Belgian Relief − was an international (predominantly American) organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the Fir ...
(CRB) was an international (predominantly American) organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the First World War. It was led by
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
. Between 1914 and 1919, the CRB operated entirely with voluntary efforts and was able to feed 11,000,000 Belgians by raising the necessary money, obtaining voluntary contributions of money and food, shipping the food to Belgium and controlling its there, For example, the CRB shipped 697,116,000 pounds of flour to Belgium. Biographer George Nash finds that by the end of 1916, Hoover "stood preeminent in the greatest humanitarian undertaking the world had ever seen." Biographer William Leuchtenburg adds, "He had raised and spent millions of dollars, with trifling overhead and not a penny lost to fraud. At its peak, his organization was feeding nine million Belgians and French a day. When the U.S. entered the war President Wilson gave Hoover charge of the American food supply. When the war ended in late 1918, Wilson gave Hoover control of the
American Relief Administration American Relief Administration (ARA) was an American relief mission to Europe and later post-revolutionary Russia after World War I. Herbert Hoover, future president of the United States, was the program director. The ARA's immediate predeces ...
(ARA), with the mission of finding food and coal for Central and Eastern Europe. The ARA fed millions. U.S. government funding of $100 million for the ARA expired in the summer of 1919, and Hoover transformed the ARA into a private organization, raising millions of dollars from private donors. He had numerous efficient aides, such as
Anson Goodyear Anson Conger Goodyear (June 20, 1877 – April 24, 1964) was an American manufacturer, businessman, author, and philanthropist and member of the Goodyear family. He is best known as one of the founding members and first president of the Museum of ...
, who handled coal supplies in Austria, Hungary and Poland. According to Kendrick Clements: :The gregarious, energetic, and ingenious Goodyear cheerfully accepted Hoover's orders to do anything necessary to get the coal moving. Employing his native charm and his authority to provide or withhold food shipments, he calmed strikes and opened borders. At one point, he got Hoover to send him $25,000 worth of tobacco to distribute among miners. Within a month, his unorthodox methods contributed to doubling coal production in Central Europe. Under the auspices of the ARA, the European Children's Fund fed millions of starving children. When attacked for distributing food to Russia, which was under Bolshevik control, Hoover snapped, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!"


Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation was founded in 1936, and after the deaths of Edsel Ford and Henry Ford it was given by the family all of the non-voting shares of the Ford Motor Company. The family kept all the voting shares, which although far fewer in number, assured its continuous control of the corporation. Ford's profits, dividends, and increases in stock value went overwhelmingly to the Foundation. In 1950 the family gave up control of the Foundation, Keeping a few seats on the board until 1976. In 1955 the Foundation sold most of its Ford shares. By then it passed the Rockefeller Foundation to become the largest philanthropy, with very large scale projects in the United States and around the world. Domestically, it focused on inner-city revitalization, the development of
public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
, and support for the arts. It invested heavily in graduate training programs in American and European research universities, especially in promoting international studies. Civil rights and aid to minority groups became a major priority after 1950. It started with an effort had building minority communities and promoting integration. However, by the 1970s it had switched to a top-down strategy of training new minority leaders. One result was the support for Black Power elements hostile to integration, such as
CORE Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the central ...
, as well as black studies programs on campuses. Another was resentment especially as Jewish leaders were pushed out of the civil rights movement by the new black generation. Outside the United States, it established a network of human rights organizations, promoted democracy, gave large numbers of fellowships for young leaders to study in the United States.


Recent philanthropists

The
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...
has awarded more than $6 billion since its first grants in 1978. It has an endowment of $6.3 billion and provides approximately $270 million annually in grants and impact investments. It is best known for the annual
MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...
, often dubbed "genius grants", which makes $625,000 no-strings-attached awards annually to about two dozen creative individuals in diverse fields.


Gates and Buffett

During the past few years, computer entrepreneur
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
, who co-founded Microsoft, and billionaire investor and
Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from ...
Chairman
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net w ...
have donated many billions of dollars to charity and have challenged their wealthy peers to donate half of their assets to philanthropic causes. The
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
has led campaigns to eradicate
malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
and
river blindness Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...
, with Warren Buffett donating $31 billion in 2006 to the Gates Foundation. Financier
Ronald Perelman Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman and investor. MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, cars, photography, t ...
signed the Gates-Buffett Pledge in August 2010, committing up to half his assets to be designated for the benefit of charitable causes (after his family and children have been provided for), and gave $70 million to charity in 2008 alone. Phil Knight, a co-founder of Nike Corporation, and his wife Penny, have given or pledged more than $2 billion. Oregon Health and Science University, Stanford University and the University of Oregon have received the bulk of their philanthropy.


LLC

Recent philanthropists have decided to forego the
Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
route in favor of utilizing a limited liability company (
LLC A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
) to pursue their philanthropic goals and an example of
philanthrocapitalism Philanthrocapitalism or philanthropic capitalism is a way of doing philanthropy, which mirrors the way that business is done in the for-profit world. It may involve venture philanthropy that actively invests in social programs to pursue specific p ...
. This allows the organization to avoid three main legal constrictions on Foundations in the US. In December 2015,
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...
and his spouse
Priscilla Chan Priscilla Chan (born February 24, 1985) is an American philanthropist and a former pediatrician. She and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, a co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in December 2015, with a p ...
pledged to donate over the decades 99% of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion, to the
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifetime ...
, a newly created LLC with focuses on health and education. *Foundations must give away 5% of assets annually *Foundations must disclose where the grants are going and generally can only give to 501c3s registered charities *Foundations must avoid funding or even advocating for a side in politics The LLC structure allows the philanthropist to keep their initiatives private although there is no requirement that they do. Arnold Ventures far exceeds the transparency requirements placed on Foundations. An LLC is allowed to support for-profit companies that they feel support their mission. And the LLC, therefore, permitted to make and keep any profits made on such an investment. Lastly, an LLC can openly support politicians with whom they agree and advocate for policy positions and even author such policy positions elected officials may opt to use. Lastly, the original donor, such as Mr. Zuckerberg, retains control over the shares donated. If he had donated shares to a Foundation they would no longer be his, nor would he control Facebook, of which he was a co-founder and still runs. Partial List of Philanthropic LLCs *
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifetime ...
*
Arnold Ventures LLC Arnold Ventures LLC (formerly known as The Laura and John Arnold Foundation) is focused on evidence-based giving in a wide range of categories including: criminal justice, education, health care, and public finance. The organization was founded by ...
*
Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over $1.5billion to n ...
*
Emerson Collective Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, this limited liability company (LLC) uses philanthropy, impact investing, ...


Female philanthropists

Rosalind P. Walter Rosalind P. Walter (née Palmer; June 25, 1924 – March 4, 2020) was an American philanthropist and humanities advocate who was best known for her late 20th and early 21st century support for public television programming across the United ...
became a noted philanthropist during the latter part of the 20th century in collaboration with, and independently of, her husband, Henry Glendon Walter, Jr. Best known for her support of
public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
programming in the United States, she has also served as a trustee for the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
,
Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university with two main campuses, LIU Post and LIU Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It offers more than 500 academic programs at its main campuses, online, and at multiple non-residential. LIU ...
and the
Paley Center for Media The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...
.


21st century efforts

Trends in philanthropy have been affected in various ways by a technological and cultural change. Today, many
donations A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provid ...
are made through the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
(see also donation statistics). The
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
Center on Philanthropy has reported that approximately 65% of households earning $100,000 or less donate to charity, and nearly every household exceeding that amount donated to charity. More particularly, according to studies by the
Chronicle of Philanthropy ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' is a magazine that covers the nonprofit world of philanthropy. Based in Washington, DC, it is aimed at charity leaders, foundation executives, fund raisers, and other people involved in philanthropy. ''The Chroni ...
, the rich (those making over $100,000 a year) give a smaller share, averaging 4.2%, to charity than those poorer (between $50,000 - $75,000 a year), who give an average of 7.6%.


Religious Communities

Today, the involvement of religious communities in philanthropic work is still observable, with scholars demonstrating that, “individuals who are religious are more likely to give money to charitable organizations” and they are also more likely, “to give more money than those who are not religious.” These monetary contributions can be either charitable donations made to religiously run-or secular charities and institutions, or religious organizations and religions themselves, as a means of sustaining the institutions. When looking at the total amount of charitable giving in the United States, the largest proportion are donations made to religious congregations, nearly 29%. American Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant communities all, nearly equally, prioritize contributing to their congregational houses of worship above other causes. The impact of American religious communities in philanthropy and charitable giving can be seen across a variety of faith communities, including the Protestant, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim communities. Institutes like the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy's Lake Institute on Faith and Giving not only conduct research on the practice of faith-based giving, but also offer education and training on how to better engage in and manage religious philanthropy.


American Jews

A 2013 study showed, that More than 90 percent of Jewish donors give to causes unrelated to their faith.That'' Jewish donors—especially those of modest means—are among the most generous Americans. As'' well as that ''many of them make a high proportion of their gifts to causes that have nothing to do with their faith''.' According to 2017 publication, "America’s Jewish Community Leads in Per Capita Giving."' Across the 2010s, estimates of the total value of Jewish philanthropic contributions varies from $24 to $46.3 billion, depending on estimation methodology. Definitional issues account for a large part of the variance in these estimates: when deciding what donations count as Jewish philanthropy, methodologies vary based on how to account for sources of the donations and intents of charitable causes.


American Muslims

When it comes to American Muslims, their “philanthropic patterns and preferences”, mostly are “aligned remarkably well with other faith groups and the general public.” Key differences include greater likelihood to have their philanthropic donations motivated by their “sense of religious duty” for 17% of American Muslims, contrasted with the 10% reported in the general American public, and a “feeling that those with more should aid those with less” for 20% of American Muslims, contrasted with only 12% in the general public. In a study conducted by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, when compared to other American faith groups, Muslims were found to be the most likely to “contribute to organizations” combating poverty in the United States that were “outside their faith communities” (81%). This statistic remains true despite the fact that a notable amount of American Muslims are immigrants to the United States, demonstrating an “opposite trend” to what may be expected. After domestic poverty, 58% of those surveyed prioritized non-domestic relief as a philanthropic cause. The study also found that there were no major distinctions between the giving patterns of men and women, but did observe age and race-based differences. Younger American Muslims were much more likely to give to domestic causes than their elders, as well as to overseas causes. When it comes to race, Black Muslims are more likely to give to both educational causes within the American Muslim community, as well as to “youth & family services” and “arts & culture causes” both outside of their community.


Journalism

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
announced philanthropies had funded an expansion of their global news coverage of
climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. Other philanthropies have given grants to news outlets in order to cover special issues, such as the health pandemic and the war in Yemen. The transition to increased philanthropic funding of journalism comes as traditional revenue streams have declined.


See also

*
The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has 236 signatories from 28 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, an ...
*
Patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...


Notes and references


Further reading

* Adam, Thomas. ''Buying respectability: Philanthropy and urban society in transnational perspective, 1840s to 1930s'' (Indiana University Press, 2009). * Bremner, Robert H. ''American Philanthropy'' (2nd ed. U of Chicago Press, 1988) brief historical survey
online free to borrow
* Bremner, Robert H. ''Giving: Charity and Philanthropy in History'' (1996
online free to borrow
* Bremner, Robert H. "Private philanthropy and public needs: Historical perspective." in Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs, ''Research Papers'' (1977) vol 1 pp 89–113
online
* Burlingame, D.F. Ed. (2004). ''Philanthropy in America: A comprehensive historical encyclopaedia'' (3 vol. ABC Clio). * Curti, Merle E. ''American philanthropy abroad: a history'' (Rutgers UP, 1963). * Curti, Merle E. ''Philanthropy in the Shaping of Higher Education'' (Rutgers UP, 1965).) * Dillingham, George A. ''The Foundation of the Peabody Tradition'' (University Press of America, 1989). * "George Peabody." in ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (1936
Online
* Grimm, Robert T. ''Notable American Philanthropists: Biographies of Giving and Volunteering'' (2002
excerpt
* Hall, Peter Dobkin. "A historical overview of philanthropy, voluntary associations, and nonprofit organizations in the United States, 1600-2000." in Walter W. Powell and Richard Steinberg, eds. ''The nonprofit sector: A research handbook'' (2nd ed. 2006): vol 2 pp 32–65
online
* Hall, Peter Dobkin. “Philanthropy, the Welfare State, and the Transformation of American Public and Private Institutions, 1945-2000,” (2000
online
* Harmon, Elizabeth. "The Transformation of American Philanthropy: From Public Trust to Private Foundation, 1785-1917". (PhD Dissertation, University of Michigan, 2017)
Online
* Harvey, Charles, et al. "Andrew Carnegie and the foundations of contemporary entrepreneurial philanthropy." ''Business History'' 53.3 (2011): 425–450
online
* Hellman, Geoffrey T. "The First Great Cheerful Giver" ''American Heritage'' (June 1966) 17#4 pp 28+ * Hidy, Muriel E. ''George Peabody, merchant and financier: 1829–1854'' (Ayer, 1978). * Hitchcock, William I. (2014) "World War I and the humanitarian impulse." ''The Tocqueville Review/La revue Tocqueville'' 35.2 (2014): 145–163. * Kiger, Joseph C. ''Philanthropists and foundation globalization'' (2011) * Kiger, Joseph. "Peabody, Sage, Carnegie, and Rockefeller." in ''Philanthropists and Foundation Globalization'' (Routledge, 2017) pp. 29–54. * McCarthy, Kathleen D. ''American creed: Philanthropy and the rise of civil society, 1700-1865'' (U of Chicago Press, 2003). * Malczewski, Joan. "Weak State, Stronger Schools: Northern Philanthropy and Organizational Change in the Jim Crow South." ''Journal of Southern History'' 75#4 (2009): 963–1000. * Maltby, Josephine and Janette Rutterford. “Investing in Charities in the Nineteenth Century: The financialization of Philanthropy.” ''Accounting History'' 21 no. 2-3 (2016): 263–280. * Miller, Howard S. ''The Legal Foundations of American Philanthropy, 1776-1844'' (State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1961). * Parker, Franklin. ''George Peabody: A Biography'' (1996) * Reich, Rob, Chiara Chordelli, and Lucy Bernholz, eds. ''Philanthropy in Democratic Societies: History, Institutions, Values'' (U of Chicago Press, 2016). * Uy, Michael Sy. ''Ask the Experts: How Ford, Rockefeller, and the NEA Changed American Music'' (Oxford University Press, 2020) 270pp. * Wyllie, Irvin G. "The Search for an American Law of Charity, 1776-1844." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 46.2 (1959): 203–221.
online
* Zunz, Olivier. ''Philanthropy in America: A history'' (Princeton UP, 2014).


External links


Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society

Association of Donor Relations Professionals
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