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
Author Archives: HistPhil
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
On Fortune, Linsey McGoey Compares Past & Present Philanthropy
Today, Fortune published a piece by sociologist Linsey McGoey, “Do today’s philanthropists hurt more than they help?” The author applies the history of philanthropy in furthering her argument on the contemporary state of philanthropic giving in the United States, so we are bringing the piece to readers’ attention. In her indictment of contemporary philanthropic practices, McGoey specifically draws comparisons … Continue reading
Overstating the Role of Philanthropy in Education Reform
Editors’ Note: The philanthropy & education forum continues with this contribution by William Schambra. One thing upon which friends and foes of school choice agree: without the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the initial education voucher experiment in Milwaukee would never have occurred. As fierce voucher opponent People for the American Way put it in 2003, … Continue reading
Darren Walker’s “Toward a New Gospel of Wealth”
Yesterday, the Ford Foundation’s President Darren Walker posted a thoughtful essay on the history of philanthropy and inequality, along with an analysis of how to tackle global inequities today. Since the piece revisits many of the topics that HistPhil contributors discussed during the inequality forum, we wanted to bring the essay to readers’ attention. He also answers quite directly … Continue reading
Foundations and Education Reform in the Jim Crow South
Editors’ Note: Joan Malczewski continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. William C. Chance established the Parmele Industrial Institute in Martin County, North Carolina, in 1910. Chance was an experienced educator with great ambitions, but it was difficult in the Jim Crow South to sustain an independent black school. Four years later, when his house was … Continue reading
Call for Papers on the History of Philanthropy: ISTR Conference (Stockholm, June 2016)
The Twelfth International Conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) will be taking place this upcoming June-July 2016 at Ersta Sköndal University College in Stockholm, Sweden. I am reaching out to our readers in order to organize a potential panel on the history of philanthropy and foundations for the conference. If you’re interested in joining such … Continue reading
Noting the Lessons from Newark & the Annenberg Challenge
Editors’ Note: Alexander Russo continues the site’s ongoing discussion on philanthropy & education. One of the main concerns about the current era of school reform is that its approach is “top-down” rather than “bottom-up.” That is, the methods and approaches that are used are designed and implemented by consultants and district administrators rather than community … Continue reading
The Unity of Philanthropy and Education
Editors’ Note: George McCully continues the site’s dialogue on philanthropy & education. Recent research into the meaning of the word “philanthropy” by reference to its etymology and history, has revealed that today’s customary usage is a pale reflection of the great tradition, which we would do well now to revive —especially in thinking about philanthropy … Continue reading
Call for Papers: Voluntary Action History Conference (University of Liverpool, July 2016)
In the Summer of 1991 three people who conducted research on the UK voluntary sector and volunteering as well as working in voluntary organisations met at the Coach and Horses, a well-known public house in London’s Soho. After spending months complaining among themselves about the ignorance and lack of interest of people who worked in … Continue reading
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