A History Of Philanthropic Foundations

This book is a turning point in the evolution of Canada's philanthropic landscape - a testament to new and ground-breaking knowledge that reflects a distinct Canadian foundation sector. Explore established and emerging landscapes, Indigenous perspectives on philanthropy and creative and innovative pathways to change.

How philanthropy has shaped America in the twentieth century American philanthropy today expands knowledge, champions social movements, defines active citizenship, influences policymaking, and addresses humanitarian crises. How did philanthropy become such a powerful and integral force in American society? Philanthropy in America is the first book to explore in depth the twentieth-century growth of this unique phenomenon. Ranging from the influential large-scale foundations established by tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and the mass mobilization of small donors by the Red Cross and March of Dimes, to the recent social advocacy of individuals like Bill Gates and George Soros, respected historian Olivier Zunz chronicles the tight connections between private giving and public affairs, and shows how this union has enlarged democracy and shaped history. Demonstrating that America has cultivated and relied on philanthropy more than any other country, Philanthropy in America examines how giving for the betterment of all became embedded in the fabric of the nation's civic democracy.

America's grantmaking foundations have grown rapidly over the course of recent decades, even in the face of financial and economic crises. Foundations have a great deal of freedom, enjoy widespread legitimacy, and wield considerable influence. In this book, the authors present a comprehensive historical account of what American foundations have done with that independence and power. While philanthropic foundations play important roles in other parts of the world, the U.S. sector stands out as exceptional. Nowhere else are they so numerous, prominent, or autonomous. What have been the main contributions of philanthropic foundations to American society? And what might the future hold for them?

Originally published in 1938, this is a classic muckraking account of the role of philanthropic foundations. Horace Coon's journalistic indictment of the state of philanthropy in the 1920s and 1930s emphasizes how great wealth perpetuates itself through the mechanism of the foundation. Coon looks at how foundations influence education and public thinking, the extent to which they support scientific, medical, and social science research, and their financial operations. But "Money to Burn "is more than an example of what we today would call investigative journalism. It is also one of the first serious efforts to describe the history of modern American philanthropy. Coon discusses the origins of philanthropic foundations in Western history and the establishment of the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations, reviews the founders' motives, and launches a biting critique in the context of the economic disaster of the Great Depression. He grapples with the concept of the foundation as a "semi-public institution" that links political, economic, and public concerns, and he questions what degree of accountability to the public is appropriate. While Coon's interpretive criticism of the American philanthropic foundations reflects the political and economic concerns of the late 1930s, it stays honestly close to the facts. "Money ""to "Burn ""can be read profitably today as both a good general history of the emergence of modern American philanthropy and as an example of the public's concern with concentration of money and power at the end of the 1930s. Money to Burn, another volume in the Philanthropy in Society series, will be of interest to social scientists, philanthropists, public policy analysts, and decision makers interested in the role of the voluntary sector in American society.

In a readable, coherent, and succinct account, Kiger surveys the changes that have taken place in U.S. foundations in the 20th century and describes our foundations as they exist today. Opening with historical information on the emergence of large foundations at the beginning of the century, the book discusses the major characteristics of foundations, emphasizing that they are organized to give away rather than make money, and identifies and discusses the major changes since 1950. In considering those changes, the book considers such topics as growth and expansion, diversification in the makeup of trustees and staff, and governmental oversight and supervision. In the increasing movement of foundations into the international sphere, the book covers their international activities and the formation and operation of international centers and groups associated with them. Phlanthropic Foundations in the Twentieth Century provides a useful overview of the growth, development, and operation of foundations.