America: The History of Philanthropy

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America: The History of Philanthropy

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

America: Making History and The History of Philanthropy

Philanthropic funding from unusually wealthy individuals is not a new development on the American scene. In 1643, Harvard College conducted what is believed to be the country's first recorded fund raising drive, raising 500 Pound to support its educational endowment. The modern notion of philanthropy began with Andrew Carnegie, who in an essay titled The Gospel of Wealth published in 1889, gave birth to the idea that the rich should, instead of "leaving their wealth to their families, administer it as a public trust during life." The Carnegie essay paved the way for John D. Rockefeller, Sr., who in 1891 hired staff to help manage his philanthropic enterprises. In 1921, pressured by tremendous need and an increasingly charitable America, Congress finally enacted tax relief in exchange for personal giving. (Corporations had to wait until 1935 and the Great Depression.)

Never in their wildest dreams would these early philanthropists and legislators have imagined that the transfer of wealth in the United States would exceed $41 trillion over the next 50 years. The amounts now being given by those who have made millions (or billions) during the tech boom are unprecedented. Bill Gates, today's pre eminent philanthropist, has given an astonishing $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mostly to tackle health problems of the world's poor. This generosity earned the couple Time's nomination as 2005's people of the year, along with activist rock star Bono. In today's world, such generosity has never been so public or popular.

Learn More:
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Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on the Strategic Steps Out of Poverty

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