Philanthropy

What is Philanthropy?

Philanthropy may be defined as the donation of money, time and different types of goods to people in need. Broadly speaking, philanthropy includes activities that are likely to promote the welfare of the people. People related with philanthropic activities are known as philanthropists. For participating in these activities you do not need to have loads of wealth. All you need is a heart that feels for others. Though some big names in this lot are John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates and Tom Hunter, anybody, no matter of what means the person may be, can be a philanthropist. Philanthropic activities are some of the major sources of income for artistic, musical and religious causes as well as on humanitarian ground and for educational institutes.

Philanthropy is often criticized adversely. People who oppose the welfare programs of the government often turn down the concept of the philanthropic activities. The purpose of such activities also often creates controversies. Some opine that philanthropy is for the welfare of the poor people while others conclude that it is for different kinds of social needs that are not served or adequately met by the market. It is often considered to be a process of improving the community by building up community funds and donating vehicles. When the resources of the community improve through community philanthropy, the community is able to reach a position from where it can solve its own problems.

Philanthropists can work on both present and future needs of mankind. If there is any disaster, the activists go and help the suffering victims. For meeting future needs, they have to have foresight, which is not needed for working on present situations. Charity to meet present requirements often brings quick response and recognition to the activists. On the contrary, while working with a foresight for the future, the donors are hardly recognized or honored. Some governments support philanthropy while others offers facilities like tax break to people offering donations to needy people. However, for most governments, philanthropy is considered as an object of suspicion as there is common perception that the philanthropic organizations use these means only to favor certain parts of the society. From the political point of view, philanthropic activities in the private sector can bring about social changes without interrupting the government activities on social welfare. For more information on the purpose and other aspects of philanthropy, you can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philanthropy.

Youth Philanthropy

The term ‘young philanthropy’ is mainly related with the youth donating time and money for the benefits of the people in need. It is beneficial for the youth as well. By taking part in such philanthropic activities, they are more likely to gain knowledge and come closer to people while performing community services. It is the responsibility of the youth as well to make the world, where they are living, a better place, both for themselves as well as for others. With the process, the youth are trained to recognize the problems existing within the community and thereby, try to provide solutions in a meaningful way. For example, in the Jewish community, there are synagogues, day schools, Jewish federations and other Jewish organizations that offer Jewish youth philanthropy programs through which the teens in their community get the chance to take part in philanthropic activities. This kind of philanthropy is done through youth and adult partnership. It is often regarded as a successful application of service learning. By participating in such social activities, the youth gets to cultivate attributes like confidence, skills, knowledge, and leadership abilities. The main aim of these programs is to educate the youth about civic sense as well as to train them in helping suffering people. A look through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_philanthropy can provide you more information on the topic.

Venture Philanthropy

Venture philanthropy is the type of philanthropy where the philanthropists borrow some of the best venturing processes for building up their capital and strengthening their financial capacity. By this process, the donor dollars are valued with social returns of the investment. Venture philosophy is often criticized as “misguided hubris” by those rather skeptical by nature. There are some other critics who believe that the process with which you can gain profit in the corporate sector is not always apt for the non-profit sector. The total concept of venture philanthropy has thrown a challenge to the traditional concept of philanthropy. In the words of Thomas Billitteri, while writing on venturing a Bet on Giving in Chronicle of Philanthropy, "many advocates promote venture philanthropy as an antidote to what they see as the failings of mainstream philanthropy." In the current situation, there is hardly any time to think over the processes repeatedly. The process may be different but the aim is the same in both cases. All that matters is the success rate. If the new process is capable of helping people, there is no point in denying the efforts.

Venture philanthropy is the spirit of the current era and the new generation. It has been providing new dimensions to people who are working over the art and science of fundraising. The concept may be young but has already been able to stir fundraisers worldwide; and today, no one can ignore the phenomena it has created in the world of philanthropy. Some may think that it is questioning the age-old practices of fundraising. But the fact remains that like traditional philanthropists, the venture enthusiasts are also trying to help people and make the world around them a better place to live in. For more information regarding this you can search http://www.charityvillage.com/cv/ires/ires11.html

Philanthropic Organizations

Philanthropic organizations are trust organizations or, unincorporated associations that are founded with the aim of helping distressed persons in the society. Philanthropic organizations are included in the fast growing sectors of many countries. Sometimes, such organizations take over responsibilities like health and old age care that are supported by the government. These are mainly non-profit organizations. Philanthropic organizations are run primarily by accepting donations from people. You can visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_%28charity%29 for further information.

International Philanthropy Organizations

There are several philanthropy organizations that operate internationally. In the following section, we will discuss on some of these organizations.

Ford Foundation

Ford Foundation is one of the most famous and largest foundations of the United States. It is based in New York and works in countries all over the world. The main expertise of the foundation lies in areas like community development, asset building, economic development, human rights awareness, promotion of education, art and culture, promotion of peace and social justice and enhancing human development with programs like international co operation and governance. They also offer International Fellowship programs with the opportunities of further studies to the people who are prepared "to become leaders in their respective fields, furthering development in their own countries and greater economic and social justice worldwide." You can visit http://www.fordfound.org for more information on the Ford Foundation.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, based in Seattle, is the largest private foundation in the United States that operates globally. This philanthropic foundation believes that the lives of the people can be improved through a healthy life and learning how to look for "strategic opportunities to extend the benefits of modern science and technology to people around the world, especially where poverty serves as an obstacle to participating in these benefits." They are currently working on global health issues like prevention of common diseases, enhancing public health and nutrition in the developing countries, and spreading education on new information technology and family planning. A glance through http://www.gatesfoundation.org will give you more information related to the foundation.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 by W.K. Kellogg mainly works on increasing the capacity level of the individual as well as of the community and institutions and motivating them to be independent and strong enough to solve problems on their own. Based in Michigan, the foundation mainly works in the countries of southern Africa with their projects like Integrated Rural Development (IRD), the Leadership Regional Network (LeaRN), and the Initiative for Development and Equity in African Agriculture (IDEAA). They work in the areas of Latin America as well as Caribbean as the largest donor from United States. The aim of their current project is "to demonstrate and disseminate strategies to break the cycle of poverty by promoting healthy youth development and participation in socially and economically vibrant communities." The official website of W.K. Kellogg Foundation is http://www.wkkf.org and a look through this site will inform you further on any query you might have related to their operations.

1: Philanthropic Organizations

Before we initiate the discussion about philanthropic organizations, we must be quite clear about the meaning of the word ‘philanthropy’. Below are some of the common definitions of philanthropy.

2: Corporate Philanthropy

Corporate Philanthropy Definition of corporate philanthropy Corporate philanthropy, also referred to as “corporate giving”, is the task of donation undertaken mostly by corporation

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