This upcoming Jan. 7-10th, the annual meeting of the American Historical Association will take place in Atlanta; and in anticipation of the event, I have culled a list of panels that might be of interest to HistPhil readers. We hope to see you there! Of course, please let me know if I missed any panels, and please also reach … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: December 2015
A Review of 2015 & Looking to 2016
Thinking back over this year, many thanks to the 500 Twitter followers, 300 email subscribers, and over forty contributors who have made this site an exciting place for conversations on the history of philanthropy. Fellow HistPhil co-founders Stanley N. Katz, Benjamin Soskis, and I launched the website this past summer with the dual purpose of strengthening … Continue reading
Confronting a Philanthropic Past: A Review of Rosenfield’s A World of Giving
Editors’ Note: Benjamin Coates reviews Patricia Rosenfield’s A World of Giving: Carnegie Corporation of New York – A Century of International Philanthropy. As a pioneer of modern philanthropy, Andrew Carnegie was among the first millionaires to face criticism not for his stinginess, but for his largesse. Why should society admire a man for giving away wealth … Continue reading
The Salvation Army and the Balance between faith-based ministry and philanthropy
Editors’ Note: HistPhil’s forum on the split between philanthropy and charity continues with this post from the Salvation Army’s Jennifer Byrd. On street corners, in front of shopping centers and businesses all across the United States, the yearly Christmas season ritual of The Salvation Army’s red kettles and bell ringers stands as one of society’s … Continue reading
Philanthropy and the quest for Civic Competence
The Chronicle of Philanthropy has just published an editorial I wrote on the responses to the Zuckerberg-Chan announcement and on what they might suggest about the public’s engagement with big philanthropy in the years to come. I was tempted to include in it some additional reflections on an earlier episode from American philanthropic history in … Continue reading
The Long History of Philanthropic Impact Reporting
Contrary to the impression given in many philanthropy blogs and in the pronouncements of contemporary movements such as “effective altruism,” providing evidence of philanthropic impact is not a new development. It has been at the center of the voluntary sector since its rise in the early nineteenth century. Evidence of the impact of the “philanthropic … Continue reading
Curating Philanthropic History
Yesterday, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History unveiled a long-term Philanthropy Initiative, which includes a new display, “Giving in America,” and a collections effort that “represents Americans’ gifts of time, talent, expertise and money.” They also held their first annual philanthropy symposium, “The Power of Giving: Philanthropy’s Impact on American Life” featuring eminences such as Bill … Continue reading
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