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From the Editors / New Works in the Field

Hudson Institute Event for Linsey McGoey’s NO SUCH THING AS A FREE GIFT (2015)

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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 vs. Charity

Philanthropy Preceded Charity: the True History

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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 →

From the Editors

Social Velocity’s Q&A with HistPhil

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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 vs. Charity

Philanthropy, Charity, & the Society of St. Vincent de Paul

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy and Education / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Early 20th Century American Philanthropy in the Near East

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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 →

From the Editors / Philanthropy and Historical Research

History of Philanthropy at NYU’s Philanthropy & the Law Annual Conference

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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 →

Current Events and Philanthropy / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Donor Advised Funds from an Historian’s Perspective

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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 →

Philanthropy and Education

Economics was Once Radical: Then It Decided Not to Be

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy and Education

The Economics of Funding Undergraduate Education in the United States

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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 →

From the Editors / New Works in the Field / Philanthropy in the News

On Fortune, Linsey McGoey Compares Past & Present Philanthropy

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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 →

Philanthropy and Education

Overstating the Role of Philanthropy in Education Reform

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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 →

From the Editors

Darren Walker’s “Toward a New Gospel of Wealth”

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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 →

New Works in the Field / Philanthropy and Education

Foundations and Education Reform in the Jim Crow South

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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 →

From the Editors / Philanthropy and Historical Research

Call for Papers on the History of Philanthropy: ISTR Conference (Stockholm, June 2016)

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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 →

Philanthropy and Education

Noting the Lessons from Newark & the Annenberg Challenge

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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 →

Philanthropy and Education

The Unity of Philanthropy and Education

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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 →

Philanthropy and Historical Research

Call for Papers: Voluntary Action History Conference (University of Liverpool, July 2016)

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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 →

Current Events and Philanthropy / Philanthropy and Education

Upcoming Philamplify Debate on Reform Strategies in Education

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Next Tuesday, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy will host their first Philamplify debate on “Reform Strategies in Education.” Philamplify is the novel evaluative tool that NCRP designed, using some of the principles of crowd-sourcing, in which the NCRP performs a deep investigation into a single foundation, but also opens up the process to the … Continue reading →

Current Events and Philanthropy / Philanthropy and Education

Reimagining Education: Philanthropy and Public Policy

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Editors’ Note: Robin Rogers argues that philanthropy has undergone great change since the turn of this century, and particularly in the education sector. In her analysis of this “new” philanthropy, she engages with Johann Neem’s and Jeffrey Snyder’s recent contributions to the site’s philanthropy & education forum.  Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Job’s widow, just gave fifty million … Continue reading →