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
Author Archives: HistPhil
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
The Indeterminate Politics of the Charity vs. Philanthropy Divide
Editors’ Note: The following post, from HistPhil co-editor Benjamin Soskis, continues our forum on “charity vs. philanthropy.” It is adapted from a monograph Soskis wrote last year, “Both More and No More: The Historical Split Between Charity and Philanthropy” for the Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal. One of the more fascinating elements of … Continue reading
Charles Taylor on the sources of the philanthropic self
Editors’ Note: Jeremy Beer continues the site’s ongoing forum on “philanthropy vs. charity” with a discussion of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age (2007). Leaning on this 2007 work, Beer analyzes whether “the moral sources of modern philanthropy [are] adequate to sustain philanthropy’s ideals of ‘universal human dignity and well-being.’” In various places throughout his immensely important body of work—including … Continue reading
Reflections on History and ARNOVA
Editors’ Note: On Friday, at its annual conference in Chicago, ARNOVA (Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action) held a mini-plenary: “History, Nonprofits Organizations and Voluntary Associations: Plenary in Honor of Peter Dobkin Hall” at which scholars in the field debated the role that history should play within the research organization. They also discussed … Continue reading
A Review of Linsey McGoey’s NO SUCH THING AS A FREE GIFT (2015)
In his synopsis of last week’s Hudson Institute event for Linsey McGoey’s No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy (Verso, 2015), fellow HistPhil co-editor Benjamin Soskis mentioned that the site will be engaging further with the book. In this vein, here is a link to my review No Such Thing as a Free … Continue reading
A Review of Peter Brown’s RANSOM OF THE SOUL (2015)
Editors’ Note: Furthering the site’s ongoing discussion on the history of philanthropy and charity, Adam Davis reviews Peter Brown’s new book The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity (HUP, 2015). It may at first seem curious for a blog on the history of philanthropy to review a new book about the relationship between … Continue reading
Charity, Philanthropy, and Trusteeship
Editors’ Note: Emma Saunders-Hastings continues the site’s forum on philanthropy vs. charity. She argues that contemporary charitable programs such as GiveDirectly “represent an important advance, and a useful baseline against which to assess other kinds of philanthropy.” Since 2011, GiveDirectly has offered donors a new way to direct their charitable dollars: they can transfer money to poor … Continue reading
Weighing the Value of the New Education Philanthropy
Editors’ Note: Continuing the site’s forum on philanthropy & education, Frederick M. Hess discusses his and Jeff Henig’s recent book and suggests ways that the philanthropic sector in the United States can play a positive role in education reform. We invite readers to engage with this particular post and the broader philanthropy & education forum, along with the site’s more … Continue reading
Hudson Institute Event for Linsey McGoey’s NO SUCH THING AS A FREE GIFT (2015)
Editors’ Note: Last Thursday in Washington D.C., HistPhil co-editor Benjamin Soskis attended the Hudson Institute’s event for Linsey McGoey’s No Such Thing as a Free Gift: The Gates Foundation and the Price of Philanthropy. Below, he provides a synopsis of the event along with an analysis of McGoey’s presentation. Last Thursday, the Hudson Institute hosted an event for … Continue reading
Philanthropy Preceded Charity: the True History
Editors’ Note: Continuing the live forum on philanthropy vs. charity, George McCully challenges common knowledge by explaining how philanthropy has a longer history than charity. Earlier this week, the forum’s first contributor, Jeremy Beer, offered his thoughts on the charity-philanthropy dichotomy and suggested why a traditional charitable ethic still has much to teach us in the 21st century. The distinction … Continue reading
Social Velocity’s Q&A with HistPhil
Several weeks ago, Social Velocity’s Nell Edgington sent us a series of questions asking us to compare and contrast past and present American philanthropy. She has now posted our responses on Social Velocity’s blog. Please visit her site and check out this latest post: “Learning from Philanthropy’s Past: An Interview with the HistPhil Blog.” In this Q&A, Stan discusses two … Continue reading
Philanthropy, Charity, & the Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Editors’ Note: This post launches a new HistPhil forum on the history of the split between charity and philanthropy, and on its contemporary relevance. (And don’t worry, we haven’t wrapped up our philanthropy and education forum entirely yet either). To open the forum, Jeremy Beer, author of The Philanthropic Revolution: An Alternative History of American Charity, offers … Continue reading
Early 20th Century American Philanthropy in the Near East
Editors’ Note: Continuing the site’s forum on philanthropy & education, Michael Limberg presents some of his ongoing dissertation research on early twentieth century U.S. development in the Near East. By 1920, field workers and administrators of the New York-based humanitarian agency Near East Relief realized they had a problem: they had been extremely successful, perhaps too successful, … Continue reading
History of Philanthropy at NYU’s Philanthropy & the Law Annual Conference
Yesterday and today, NYU School of Law’s National Center on Philanthropy and the Law is holding its annual conference, this year on the topic of “Elasticity of the Boundaries: What Is (and Isn’t) Charitable.” HistPhil‘s own Stanley N. Katz delivered an opening paper on the history of those boundaries, “Should We Kill the Goose that Laid the … Continue reading
What’s Ahead for HistPhil
HistPhil‘s forum on education and philanthropy will be wrapping up in the next few weeks, but we have some exciting plans for the months ahead that we’d like to share with you–and would love your help with. First, we’ll be hosting a forum on the split between philanthropy and charity, featuring posts from Jeremy Beer, … Continue reading
Donor Advised Funds from an Historian’s Perspective
Editors’ Note: This Friday, in Washington, DC, Boston College Law School’s Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good will be hosting a conference, “The Rise of Donor-Advised Funds: Should Congress Respond.” Among the scholars and policy-makers convening to discuss DAFs is Lila Corwin Berman, Associate Professor of History at Temple University, who will be presenting on … Continue reading
Economics was Once Radical: Then It Decided Not to Be
Editors’ Note: Continuing the philanthropy & education forum, Marshall I. Steinbaum and Bernard A. Weisberger discuss the politics of knowledge in U.S. economics associations and universities in the late nineteenth century. Though the authors do not write directly on philanthropy, the piece provides an opportunity to think about the ways that, even today, cultural contexts and individual trustees and … Continue reading
The Economics of Funding Undergraduate Education in the United States
Editors’ Note: With this contribution, Thomas Adam continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. Rising tuition fees and a lack of scholarship support for an increasing number of college students forces more and more students to finance their university education through student loans. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, in the seven … Continue reading
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