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Current Events and Philanthropy / Philanthropy and Inequality

Ford Tackles Inequality?

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Editors’ Note: Against the backdrop of Ford Foundation President Darren Walker’s announced efforts to address inequalities on the global stage, HistPhil hosted a conversation this past August on the ability of philanthropy to address societal-wide inequities. At the Ford Foundation offices in NYC earlier this month, Walker discussed further his vision for the organization with Stanford political scientist Rob Reich … Continue reading →

New Works in the Field / The Green Revolution

Can Philanthropy Feed the World?: A Review of David Rieff’s The Reproach of Hunger

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Editors’ Note: HistPhil continues its forum on the Green Revolution with this review of David Rieff’s The Reproach of Hunger from Gilbert Levine and Ruth Levine. The world has done a remarkable job of feeding itself. Despite population growth, the Food and Agriculture Organization reports that the prevalence of hunger in most parts of the developing world … Continue reading →

Current Events and Philanthropy / From the Editors

To be Young, Rich, and Philanthropic

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A few weeks ago, on the NCRP blog, Ryan Schlegel wrote an insightful post pushing back against some of the breathless celebration that had surrounded the promotion of “hacker philanthropy,” the term that Sean Parker coined in a Wall Street Journal op-ed to describe the giving of his tech mogul peers. Philanthropic “hackers,” according to … Continue reading →

Philanthropy and Historical Research / The Green Revolution

U.S. Regionalism and the Many Histories of the Green Revolution

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Editors’ Note: Tore Olsson continues HistPhil’s forum on the Green Revolution. The reach of U.S. philanthropy has rarely been contained by national boundaries, and in the twentieth century, this was especially true. Readers of this blog are likely familiar with the vast global footprint left by institutions such as the Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie endowments, … Continue reading →

Philanthropy and Historical Research / The Green Revolution

Was the Green Revolution a Humanitarian Undertaking?

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Editors’ Note: With this post from Jonathan Harwood, HistPhil begins a forum on the Green Revolution. The GR is often touted as one of the greatest achievements of twentieth century philanthropy, but perhaps with no other initiative is the gap between assessment of its impact and significance by scholars and practitioners so wide. With this … Continue reading →

Conferences / From the Editors / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Philanthropy at the Upcoming AHA Meeting

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Confronting a Philanthropic Past: A Review of Rosenfield’s A World of Giving

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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 →

Philanthropy vs. Charity

The Salvation Army and the Balance between faith-based ministry and philanthropy

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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 →

Current Events and Philanthropy / Philanthropy in the News

Philanthropy and the quest for Civic Competence

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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 →

Philanthropy and Historical Research

The Long History of Philanthropic Impact Reporting

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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 →

Current Events and Philanthropy / From the Editors

Curating Philanthropic History

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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 →

Philanthropy vs. Charity

The Indeterminate Politics of the Charity vs. Philanthropy Divide

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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 →

Philanthropy vs. Charity

Charles Taylor on the sources of the philanthropic self

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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 →

Conferences / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Reflections on History and ARNOVA

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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 →

From the Editors / New Works in the Field

A Review of Linsey McGoey’s NO SUCH THING AS A FREE GIFT (2015)

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy vs. Charity

A Review of Peter Brown’s RANSOM OF THE SOUL (2015)

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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 →

Philanthropy vs. Charity

Charity, Philanthropy, and Trusteeship

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy and Education

Weighing the Value of the New Education Philanthropy

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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 →