PHILANTHROPY:
VOLUNTARY ACTION FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
This book was originally published by
the American Council on Education and Macmillan Publishing Company (New York,
1988). It is with permission from Oryx Press that we have been able to
republish the book in its entirety on-line.
The book grew out of a discussion
paper on "Major Challenges to Philanthropy" commissioned by
Independent Sector for its annual meeting in Boston in 1984. The
balance of the book is a collection of essays from the period 1984-88,
including a survey
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of research (by Virginia
Hodgkinson) and
suggestions about "Teaching Philanthropy, Teaching About
Philanthropy."
Part One: The sections of "Major Challenges" are easily
read as separate essays. We have tried to make it easy for the
reader to access them individually or -- heaven forbid! -- to read the
book in its entirety.
Using the Table of Contents below,
select "Read On-Line" to browse specific chapters on screen,
or select "Printable Version" for a format that will print
cleanly (Note: the printable formatted files require Adobe
Acrobat which may be downloaded for free).
Click here to download entire book in Adobe Acrobat
format.
INTRODUCTORY
SECTIONS
Dedication
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Foreword
Richard W. Lyman, Ph.D.,
Lyman is
President Emeritus of Stanford University and former president of the
Rockefeller Foundation.
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Preface
The author briefly describes the purpose of the book, how he thinks it
should be read, and how he became interested in thinking about
philanthropy .
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to a few of the many friends and colleagues who helped develop
the book. Read On-Line | Printable
Version
Gleanings
A sampling of quotes that highlight diverse issues and opinions in
philanthropy, gathered from a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and
other publications. Includes an embarrassing confusion between Darryl
Strawberry and William Raspberry.
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Version
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Part I: Major
Challenges to Philanthropy A Readers Guide Brief discussion of the format, approach and themes of the book. "Professionals have a moral obligation to understand what they do and why they do it, as well as how they might do it better..." Read On-Line | Printable Version Introduction Introduces basic themes and topics of the philanthropic sector as understood by founding committee of Independent Sector. "The most difficult assumptions to examine are your own, especially when they are beneath the surface of consciousness." Read On-Line | Printable Version The Varieties of
Philanthropic Experience Philanthropy as a
Vocation Bibliography |
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Part II: ESSAYS AND REFLECTIONS Introduction Brief description of how Part II of the book differs from Part I. Read On-Line | Printable Version Philanthropy as Moral Discourse Explores the making of the philanthropic agenda and some of the ways voluntary initiatives influence public policy as well as social values. "It is the function of philanthropy as moral discourse to point out the gaps between the ideal and the actual." Read On-Line | Printable Version Virtue and Its Consequences Argues that the study of virtue will enrich our understanding of philanthropy and of the problematic nature of beneficence. "The consequences of our actions, including our best intentioned actions, are often problematic." Read On-Line | Printable Version A Dialogue Between the Head and the Heart Reflections on balancing reason and emotion in philanthropy and charity. "The purpose of liberal education is to bring some semblance of detente if not harmony to the divided empire of the human mind and spirit." Read On-Line | Printable Version Hofstra's Most Distinctive Virtue Illuminates how new dimensions of service emerge anonymously in community and institutional life. "Living and working with the physically disabled is a natural part of life on this campus." Read On-Line | Printable Version Philanthropy in Action Presents famine, war, art and homelessness as situations and problems that confront philanthropy in action that might be illuminated by moral philosophy. "Private philanthropy is far broader than fund raising and grantmaking, although most academics limit their reflection on the tradition in this single dimension." Read On-Line | Printable Version Tainted Money: The Ethics and Rhetoric of Divestment Explores the conceptual background of tainted money, and focuses on the South Africa divestment campaign of the 1980s as a primary example of that dynamic. "The moral dilemma of those who seek to do good is that they may instead do harm--in this case, terrible, irreparable harm." Read On-Line | Printable Version The Ethics of Corporate Grantmaking Reflects on the ethics and economics of corporate philanthropy and enlightened self-interest. "Each grant is an assertion about the way the world should be. Anything that important is not likely to be simple or easy or even finished." Read On-Line | Printable Version The Role of Philanthropy in the Future of Higher Education Outlines the state of economics and governance in higher education, and argues that philanthropy affects higher education to such a degree that it is worthy of being a field of study within higher education. "What should we be teaching teachers to teach children not born? Skills and methods, without content? Which content?" Read On-Line | Printable Version Research on the Independent Sector Virginia A. Hodgkinson, Ph.D. This report provides a thorough overview of the growth of philanthropy as a field of study from the 1970s through the mid-1980s. Read On-Line | Printable Version Afterword: Philanthropics Defines the field of "philanthropics" (a coined term) and puts forth a prospectus for educating ourselves and teaching about philanthropy. "Someone asked me what one should read to pursue an interest in the subject. I was stumped. What one reads depends on what one has read. We have all read many things about philanthropy, albeit without realizing we were doing so." Read On-Line | Printable Version |