"Learning about different nonprofits that touch on the mission our class created gives us a view into the philanthropic world. Within this one county, different agencies have the same goal of helping people, but they focus on different areas and ways to help. Philanthropy comes in different forms, and people have varying definitions of what philanthropy should be and do. Whether it is civic engagement, social reform, improvement, or relief, they are all methods of helping people who need help, so no tradition of philanthropy should be considered less than the others.
In class, we’ve discussed motives of people involved with philanthropy and my opinion on the subject is that any deed that has the intention of helping others often produces a tangible result; it doesn’t matter if that person did it for selfish reasons. The motives revolving around acts that generate good outcomes is something that the doer has to deal with internally. We can’t force everyone to be altruistic when they give their time, money, or support, but we can accept it and let them know how much it means in hopes of getting them to have a deeper appreciation for the things that they do.
Because of the varying intentions regarding philanthropy, it is approached differently by people, and many have the same goal of helping even though they may have a different philosophy about charity. The various types of philanthropy often intertwine. In Jane Addams’s case, she worked towards, improvement, relief, civic engagement, and social reform. Her work with the juvenile justice system, with the NAACP, street clean up systems, helping immigrants navigate their way in America, all of these examples relate to the traditions of philanthropy listed, so Addams isn’t only concerned with one way of aiding people. In Booker T. Washington’s case, he worked toward improvement and civic engagement as he tried to improve black communities through education and labor training. In Carnegie’s case, he used more of the improvement approach as he advocated for the building of libraries, pools, parks, universities, hospitals, music halls, churches, and other places that cause people to gather and share knowledge within that community atmosphere.
None of the examples I’ve gone through show a bad way of helping people. Multiple organizations can fill in the gaps of whatever is missing when it comes to philanthropy. If one place focuses on relief, another can take the improvement approach and both with equally help out the community and those in need. Organizations can have more than one way of being philanthropic, but they can’t take on every problem alone. As we begin to discuss the nonprofits we’ve visited and deliberate on how the money from the Learning by Giving foundation should be spent, we must remember that each of the organizations are there to help people. We are here to support organizations with the main focus being on helping people, so we, in turn, are helping people. It’s easy to get attached to an organization and feel like that particular place is the only one that we should consider, but what we must keep in mind is that the people in need are our main priority. Providing assistance to the community is what philanthropy is all about.
The reasons people assist others may be for religious reasons like Cotton Mather, John Winthrop, Dr. King, and others present, or it can be for other reason. Self-centered reasons like Gwendolyn Brooks presented in her poem, “Lovers of the poor,” and Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about in his novel, The Blithedale Romance, are also a motivating factor for some people. People who give because they can and they want to exist in both fiction and the real world; example of this are: Jane Addams, Benjamin Franklin, and the character Dick in Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger. There are as many types of people as there are reasons to give and live a life of philanthropy."
Svasia B. - Lansing, IL - Junior English major
