Philanthropy

Philanthropy is the voluntary use of private resources to promote public welfare. It includes individual giving, foundation grants, and organized charitable activity.

Charitable foundation: A nonprofit organization that distributes resources to support charitable purposes. Foundations pool or invest private wealth and distribute grants to advance public welfare.
Almsgiving: The practice of giving money or goods to people in need, often as a religious duty. Almsgiving is an ancient source of practices later organized as philanthropy.
Charity: Voluntary aid for people in need, often through donations or direct services. Charity commonly addresses immediate needs, while philanthropy can also pursue long-term structural change.
Philanthrocapitalism: An approach that applies business methods and market-oriented strategies to philanthropy. It shows how wealthy donors can bring corporate models into public problem-solving.
Grantmaking: The process of selecting recipients and distributing funds for specified purposes. Grantmakers turn philanthropic priorities into funded projects and services.
Waqf: An Islamic charitable endowment that dedicates property or its income to religious or public purposes. Waqf institutions funded education, worship, and social services across Islamic societies.
Mutual aid: Reciprocal support organized by people who share needs, risks, or community ties. Mutual aid emphasizes reciprocal participation rather than donor-directed transfers.
Philanthropic paternalism: The use of charitable power to direct recipients' lives or public priorities without equal participation. Donor control can make assistance reproduce unequal relationships between funders and communities.
Endowment: An invested pool of assets that provides ongoing financial support to an institution or cause. Endowments let donors support institutions over long periods rather than through one-time gifts.
Charity Organization Society: A nineteenth-century movement that coordinated charitable aid and investigated poverty in Britain and the United States. Its methods helped shape organized, professional approaches to giving and poverty relief.

Linked from 36 pages