How Major Philanthropic Gifts Build a Better World

Philanthropy in one form or another has been a signal feature of human civilization from the beginning. By about 2,000 BCE in China, families assisted senior adults, widows, and orphans with financial donations. 

In ancient times, those of Jewish faith contributed one-tenth of their income to help community members in need. The English word “tithe” means “one-tenth,” and giving away a portion of one’s income, time, or goods for the greater health of the community continues as a central practice in world religions. While Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and other traditions each have their individual outlooks on the practice, the high regard for acts of charity is universal in sacred texts. 

Modern Philanthropy

Fast-forward to the modern world, where many of today’s top philanthropists and foundations either explicitly or implicitly center their giving on universal ethical principles that value human beings’ responsibility for one another. A number of experts point to the 1990s as a “golden age” of philanthropic giving, when a booming economy fueled a corresponding boom in philanthropy.

Individuals who had been wildly successful in business brought their strategic insights to the world of giving, creating lasting and transformational legacies through foundations and projects designed to strengthen public health, education, and other major social goods. Among them were Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, whose charitable contributions since 1994 total well over $50 billion. 

The 90s were also an era in which “activist” philanthropists and institutions stepped into the spotlight as advocates and public educators on a wide range of issues important to them. Gates offers another excellent example here. 

Activist Philanthropy

Bill and Melinda Gates joined Berkshire Hathaway CEO and super-investor Warren Buffett in establishing the “Giving Pledge” in 2010. Since that time, an increasing number of other billionaires have committed themselves to giving away all or most of their wealth to worthy causes during their lifetimes. A January 19, 2021, Forbes magazine piece listed its editors’ choices for the 25 “most philanthropic billionaires.” Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, MacKenzie Scott, and Charles Feeney were among this group. 

Scott, for example, has begun putting her share of ex-husband Jeff Bezos’ Amazon fortune to good use. Over only her first year of strategic giving, she contributed some $1.7 billion to more than 100 boots-on-the-ground organizations working toward social, racial, and economic justice. Her total 2020 charitable contributions surpassed the $4 billion mark, and were targeted to organizations working to end poverty and food insecurity in local communities. 

And Charles Feeney, co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers retail empire and known as the “James Bond of Philanthropy,” whose “Giving While Living” idea influenced Buffett and the Gates in creating their Giving Pledge. In September 2020, Forbes profiled Feeney as a billionaire who is now “officially broke.” After giving away all but $2 million of his wealth, his Atlantic Philanthropies organization has contributed more than $8 billion to educational institutions and foundations, almost completely without fanfare.

Feeney has focused much of his efforts on improving the healthcare system in Vietnam. His gifts have enabled the once-struggling country to build out its schools, libraries, and medical infrastructure, including running successful public education campaigns to discourage smoking. One of his initiatives led Vietnam to pass life-saving legislation requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.

Pandemic Philanthropy

In the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gates’ foundation was at the forefront of funding the world’s response, contributing some $450 million to that effort alone. And Gates himself has demonstrated his chops as a spokesman for the value of public health projects, educating the public on the need for effective vaccines through interviews throughout popular media. 

Gates and other major donors have used their philanthropy to tackle the COVID-19 crisis in a number of specific ways, funding large-scale research and development projects focused on testing and vaccines, as well as rapid response through community-based organizations and long-term programs to combat the inequities that the pandemic has laid bare. 

According to Candid, the charity-and-grant-tracking organization formed from the merger of the venerable GuideStar and Foundation Center, the sheer size of recent donations from major philanthropists over recent years is nothing short of astonishing. In the single month of May 2020, Candid’s team noted, global philanthropic funding surpassed $10 billion. 

During the pandemic, something else became apparent: major donations were being processed and disbursed at previously unimaginable speeds, and with fewer stipulations attached, in order to get the dollars working immediately in communities where they were so desperately needed to combat the effects of the pandemic.

Biomedical Philanthropy

The rapid response of the medical community to COVID-19 lies on the foundations of the wealth of biomedical research of the 20th and 21st centuries—research funded in no small part by philanthropy. Over the last few decades, philanthropic individuals and organizations have paid to offer training and professional development to promising early-career biomedical scientists, supported partnerships between various companies and organizations in order to advance product development, facilitated collaboration, developed public education efforts, and served as a voice for patient-centered practices. 

While federal dollars typically support early-stage, exploratory research projects, private philanthropy often comes in at the point of supporting initiatives to build the repositories of hard data that make labs and their projects more competitive for further federal funding. In addition, philanthropic funders, being more flexible than government sources, are particularly well-positioned to get much-needed capital to projects that may be both high-risk and high-reward in terms of social payoff over the long-term.

The Impact of Philanthropic Vision

Driven forward by thousands of years of human generosity, the philanthropic community continues to serve as a force in building and growing societies—and creating a better life for the people within them.  

Corporate Social Responsibility – The Development of a Higher Commitment

The concept of corporate social responsibility—a model by which a business strives to make itself accountable not only to its stakeholders but to society, humanity, and future generations—first crystallized in the 1970s. But large companies were charting this path of corporate good citizenship starting at the end of the 19th century. Corporate social responsibility, or CSR, has produced tangible, positive effects that have been felt for generations.

CSR offers advantages to society and to each company that practices it, though what it looks like varies from one company and one industry to another. In purely bottom-line terms, a company that engages in thoughtful, well-placed philanthropic and volunteer work enhances its brand and positive name recognition, lifts employee morale, and creates closer ties between employees and their corporate leadership. 

CSR for businesses of all sizes

In this era of economic crisis and reconfiguration in which many small- and medium-sized businesses are struggling to maintain their equilibrium, they, like large corporations, can be successful practitioners of CSR. 

The most well-known types of CSR large companies engage in are those that build environmental sustainability into their logistics, ensure fair labor practices and ethical sourcing of materials, and direct investments into environmentally and socially responsible ventures. While smaller businesses can also achieve these macro-goals, their most accessible type of CSR typically involves sponsorship of charitable events and cash or in-kind contributions to local nonprofit organizations.

Learning to contribute to the common good

Contemporary CSR programs derive from the corporate philanthropy first practiced by Andrew Carnegie at the turn of the 20th century. Carnegie was the Scottish-American “robber baron” who made his fortune in the steel industry and donated over $90 million to fund public libraries, museums, hospitals, schools, and colleges all over North America. In “The Gospel of Wealth,” an article he wrote in 1889, he notes that anyone who “dies rich, dies disgraced.”

Among Carnegie’s contemporaries, oil titan John D. Rockefeller likewise gave large sums away to fund programs that would benefit all of humanity. One of his lesser-known but influential projects was the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Elimination of the Hookworm Disease. In 1910 about 40 percent of people in the American South were infected with hookworm, an intestinal parasite that can cause severe disease. Rockefeller’s commission, established at a time when there were few large-scale government programs dedicated to health care, was not only responsible for a dramatic reduction in the prevalence of the disease, but it ushered in a new standard for public health practices.

Frederick Goff, a prominent Cleveland banker, created the Cleveland Foundation in 1914. The idea behind it was to pool contributions from many donors to respond more effectively to the collective needs of the community, rather than to serve as a monument to the philanthropy of a single individual. Goff’s idea became the first real community foundation in the country. 

In 1953, economist and college president Howard Bowen published the book Social Responsibilities for the Businessman. Bowen’s development of the concept of corporations’ inherent duties to the societies of which they are a part later earned him credit as the “father of CSR.” 

Bowen’s work laid the foundation for CSR as we know it today. In 1971 the Committee for Economic Development specifically named the concept of the “social contract” that exists between the corporate world and the greater humanitarian good. The committee was originally formed in 1942 as a nonprofit research and policy organization promoting the interests of both business and the American people. Today, it emphasizes the idea that business operates only through the consent of the public and is therefore obligated to serve the public interest.

The “three responsibilities” of business, as outlined by the committee, involve job creation and overall economic growth, fair and honest dealings with customers and employees, and an engagement with the life and welfare of the broader community that supports the business. Over the past 50 years, these basic concepts have been expounded by many scholars and thinkers. 

Today’s big picture

More recent examples of companies and founders with a strong sense of social responsibility include Johnson & Johnson, Starbucks, and Microsoft. 

Johnson & Johnson’s founder, Robert Wood Johnson, pushed his company to put the public’s needs first through the corporate motto he established in 1943. The company has gone on to become a leader in environmentally sound production and operational practices, as well as in supporting public health through initiatives such as facilitating safe drinking water supplies in under-resourced communities all over the world. Most recently, Johnson & Johnson eschewed typical rules of corporate rivalry by partnering with competitor Merck to produce a highly effective one-dose vaccine for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Starbucks maintains a longstanding dedication to sustainable practices that support local communities. In one of its recent Global Social Impact Reports, the company notes that it has achieved its goals of sourcing 99 percent of its coffee from ethical sources, supporting a worldwide partnership that empowers local farmers, establishing green building standards across its locations, and providing staff with an innovative higher-education access program. 

As for Microsoft, founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, have become industry role models for their philanthropy, specifically in the area of global public health. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports efforts to eradicate polio, control malaria, and treat HIV, as well as fund the research, development, and equitable distribution of vaccines to fight a spectrum of other diseases, including COVID-19.

Delaware on a Dime – Where to Find the Best Beaches, Parks and Trails

If you’ve never been to Delaware, you’re missing out on some great outdoor opportunities. Maybe you’ve heard that the state has some beautiful beaches. This is very true. What you might not know is that many of these beaches are found within some wonderful state parks. Some also adjoin terrific hiking and biking trails and have nearby exhibits where you can find out about area wildlife and ecology.

What’s more, some beach towns are vibrant summer venues featuring live music festivals and amusements. Others are quieter environments where you’ll find fewer amenities but gorgeous surroundings and spectacular sunrises over the ocean.

Delaware beaches deliver a delightful time no matter what your budget. Whether you’re coming to the area for a day out with your significant other, or planning a week-long holiday with the whole family, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what the area has to offer in outdoor fun.

Read on to learn more about where to have fun in the great outdoors in Delaware.

Traditional Beaches

There’s nothing like packing up a beach towel, bathing suit and sun block for a day on the beach. Listening to the sound of the waves gently rolling into shore, the far-off cries of gulls and the contented sounds of children playing in the sand is a wonderful way to wash away the stresses of the work week.

When it comes to fun with the family, some of the best Delaware beaches have everything you need to make the most of your experience. Many have lifeguards and nearby concession stands where you can purchase snacks.

At popular beaches like Lewes, Rehoboth, Fenwick Island, Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore you’ll also find bath houses with change rooms, washrooms and sometimes showers.

If you’re looking to take things up a notch and participate in some water sports, you’ll find equipment rentals at Bethany, Cape Henlopen, Dewey and Fenwick Island beaches. Depending on the location, this includes paddle boards, surf boards, kayaks and small sail boats.

State Park Beaches

Cape Henlopen, Delaware Seaside and Fenwick Island beaches are positioned within Delaware state parks. An entrance fee is required. However, the cost of a day pass is quite reasonable. You can also purchase a more economical yearly pass if you plan to frequent any of these facilities.

A benefit of beaches at these locations is that they each have wheelchair accessible areas where anyone using a mobility device can more easily enjoy the beachfront. Several 30-foot mats, called Mobi-Mats, connect the boardwalks to the beaches.

As you might expect, at state parks there’s much more than just the shoreline to explore. Various educational and social programs are run during the summer, suitable for all ages and interests. So, if you want to partake in more than sun, sand and surf, there’s a lot to choose from. Eco-education and historically significant sites are some of the offerings within state parks.

For example, you could join Fenwick Island park naturalists on a hunt for ghost crabs. At Delaware Seaside State Park, you might be interested in touring the Indian River Life-Saving Station, going on a hike through Burton’s Island Nature Preserve or taking a fishing charter boat from the nearby marina.

The excitement continues at Cape Henlopen. Here you can bring a bicycle and take a trip along paved paths to places like the Fort Miles historical site or visit the park’s nature center where you can get close to marine life with the touch tank and sign up to take part in an organized dolphin watch. 

Festivals at the Beach

Some of the best Delaware beaches are hot tourist spots. These are often found beside small year-round communities that swell from hundreds of inhabitants to thousands during the summer months. There are a range of holiday accommodations at these beach resorts—from upscale hotels to inexpensive cottage rentals.

The beach-going population comes to these destinations for more than just lounging on a beach chair and swimming in the surf; they come to immerse themselves in the experience. There are a number of different types of festivals and attractions to choose from.

For example, if you’re searching for a more economical beach experience, stay for an evening beach bonfire or take in one of the free live music festivals at Dewey or Rehoboth. Music genres include something for every taste, from Rehoboth Beach’s Autumn Jazz festival to the annual Fiddlers Festival and Elvis Festival at Dewey Beach. Rehoboth Beach also has a Sea Witch Festival that has been an annual attraction to the area for 30 years.

Something for Everyone

With the diversity of beach adventures to choose from in Delaware, you should definitely put this state on your travel bucket list.