Keep reading to discover the ways that philanthropy has progressed over the last number of centuries, from who gives and how the work is done.

One might, when one hears the word philanthropy, immediately think about a handful of famous philanthropists who are well known for handing out their fortunes to causes that they care about. This is something that has held true for lots of thousands of years, with the very first documented instance of institutionalised philanthropy, in addition to the source of the philanthropy meaning and word, occurring over two thousand years ago in ancient Greece. Throughout this duration, the word indicated something more similar to 'loving of one's fellow man', or humanism, than the constraints of wealth one may apply to the term now, however nevertheless wealthy people played a crucial charity role in the culture. Rich people were expected to give back to the community, assisting to install the money for repairs to public works like city walls or temples as well as funding celebrations and other public events. Being stingy was not looked upon well, and if a rich individual was not seen to be a philanthropist, they could be ostracised from the community completely.

Several entities have actually been responsible for charity work throughout the ages. Although wealthy people and celebrity philanthropists might be seen as the central charitable force in the modern-day world, that is not always entirely true, nor has it been for much of history. In the middle ages, it was spiritual organizations like the church that would have been the main charitable hubs, both within the town and on bigger level projects. That changed with the coming of commercial enterprise when wealthy individuals ended up being more powerful, and after that shifted again towards the end of the 19th century when foundations began to spring up that were much better set up and could dedicate more attention to getting things done. This is much the same way that charity is structured nowadays, whether those foundations are created by grassroots groups, wealthy individuals, or firms like SJP.

The way that charity has been financed has altered a good deal throughout the course of human history, moving between various entities which hold the most power and wealth, just as the focus of charity work has actually changed as various needs have emerged. Nowadays, there are a great many problems that have to be resolved, from rising inequality to the climate crisis, and charity will undoubtedly play an essential role in that procedure. Wealthy individuals with savings account that would make a medieval kings blush have their part to play, however so do the businesses that are the central centers of financial generation in the twenty-first century through things like corporate philanthropy. Whether that is establishing a foundation of their own or establishing ESG commitments, businesses like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are beginning to do so.