Understanding Philanthropy: Its Meaning and Mission

2. Voluntary Action for the Public Good

2 Voluntary Action for the Public Good Most readers of this book can surely come up with at least a tentative answer to the question “What is philanthropy?” Chances are that these answers will vary widely, from “giving money” to “giving to help others” to the more literal and more general “love of mankind.” In fact, the same would be true if we asked scholars of philanthropy for their definitions . We said in the previous chapter that to get at the “Why” questions about philanthropy, we will explore some of our answers to this question, “What is philanthropy?” And we have already given our primary (though not our only) answer: “Philanthropy is voluntary action for the public good.” The purpose of this chapter is to unpack that definition. In doing so we will have a chance to discuss many of the features of the broad and diverse subject of philanthropy and to clarify just what is distinctive about philanthropy and what is special about its mission. A Broad, Affirmative Conception of Philanthropy We started this book with the assertion that the concept of philanthropy is a multiplicity. In fact, when we dig deeper we see that our basic definition itself embraces this multiplicity. “Voluntary action,” as we define it, encompasses both voluntary giving and voluntary service, the former usually referring to gifts of money and the latter to gifts of time. But we also include voluntary association as a third form of voluntary action. Voluntary association is the vehicle or instrument for philanthropic giving and service ; it organizes gifts of money and time to accomplish public purposes. Philanthropy’s impact on society is only possible because of voluntary associations . Our definition of philanthropy is broader than most, and this is by design .1 The single word philanthropy is used here to encompass many things, as the single word business does, and as politics does. Philanthropy and business and politics are umbrella terms, even though “circus tent” might be a more useful metaphor. Under the circus tent called philanthropy, one would find a diverse array of topics and terms: gifts and grants, volunteers and trustees, foundations and endowments, special events and fund-raising , advocacy and reform, Alternative Spring Breaks and service learning, scholarships and awards, and many more. Defining philanthropy as voluntary action for the public good assumes that philanthropy is manifest in action, not simply in purpose or intention. However, the definition also specifies that action, in order to be classified as philanthropic, must have a particular purpose—to achieve some vision of the public good. While this public good purpose might be mixed in with other, even selfish reasons for action, the action should be considered philanthropic , in our view, if it is voluntary and if it is seen by the actor as action to achieve the public good—or at least a public good. The point is that, taking all the pieces of our definition together, we argue that both the intentions and the actions of philanthropy are important.2 Another way to approach this issue is to try to identify the objectives of “voluntary action for the public good.” A useful way to classify these objectives is to boil them down to two general types: (1) to relieve the suffering of others for whom one has no formal or legal responsibility, and (2) to improve the quality of life in the community, however one defines that idea. The first objective involves meeting basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, and medical attention; the second involves enhancing the life— cultural, educational, recreational, etc.—of a community, however big or small. The range of specific philanthropic activities designed to achieve one or the other of these objectives is diverse, from direct service to organizing to fund-raising to advocacy. But both of these objectives have a prominent moral dimension; that is, they require intervening in other people ’s lives presumably for their benefit in some way. As we will argue, in our conception of philanthropy this moral dimension is the most important characteristic of the subject. 28 / Understanding Philanthropy The Debate over Terms: Philanthropy as an Essentially Contested Concept Philanthropy is an example of what the British philosopher W. B. Gallie called “essentially contested concepts.” According to Gallie, these are concepts in which “there is no one clearly definable general use . . . which can be set up as the correct or standard use” and that “inevitably involve endless...