Philanthropy is the act of helping others through various altruistic and supportive attitudes that collaborate with the support for other human beings. Donations of clothing, food, money and other charitable actions are some examples.
The word philanthropy originated from the Greek term philanthropy, which can be translated as "love of man" or "love of humanity".
Philanthropy can be practiced by individuals (philanthropists) or by philanthropic entities, which are usually non-profit groups or organizations (NGOs, for example). However, in both cases, the purpose is to propagate humanitarian and public interest issues, whether in the social, health, environment, education, etc. scope.
In short, the philanthropist makes time and, in most cases, his own money to help those in need, without expecting anything in return for this support offered.
It is believed that the origin of the concept of philanthropy would have been created by the Roman emperor Flavius Claudius Juliano. The latter wanted to eliminate Christianity from the Empire and reinstate paganism. To do this, he began to spread philanthropy as an alternative to the idea of Christian charity.
Philanthropy is more about being able to give something, even time and attention, to other people or to important causes just for the purpose of feeling good, and can be practiced in churches, hospitals, schools, etc.
One of the possible manifestations of philanthropy is the volunteering, when someone invests part of their time to contribute to a solidarity cause without receiving financial compensation.
Learn more about the meaning of Philanthropist.
Examples of Philanthropy Actions
There are several actions that can be classified as philanthropic. Some of the most common examples are:
- Donate clothes to those in need;
- Donating food baskets to those who have financial difficulties in buying food;
- Donating money to charities that promote various actions to help the poor;
- Volunteer as an educator;
- Voluntary practice some activity or service (doctor, lawyer, etc).
business philanthropy
The true concept of philanthropy is often mistakenly confused with marketing actions involving social responsibility attitudes of companies.
The purpose of philanthropic entities is to collaborate with humanitarian and ecological causes, but without expecting any kind of reward for their actions. However, some companies seek to invest in philanthropic practices, but they do so as part of a marketing strategy.
These philanthropic actions are presented in the media and, indirectly, companies are waiting for some positive response from the brand to the consumer public.
Philanthropy and the Third Sector
Philanthropic entities belong to the so-called Third Sector. This is formed by non-profit institutions that aim to provide solutions to public issues.
The First Sector is the government that, theoretically, should be in charge of solving all the needs of the social public layer. The Second Sector, in turn, is represented by private companies, which try to answer individual questions.
Learn more about the meaning of Third sector and social responsability.
Philanthropy and Misanthropy
Both are opposite concepts. Philanthropy boils down to "love of humanity", that is, when the purpose is to help people. On the other hand, misanthropy is the total "hatred of humanity", when the person (called misanthrope) feels uncomfortable interacting or empathizing with other individuals.
Misanthropy can manifest itself in an extreme way on some social groups, such as hatred for women (misogyny) and hatred for homosexuals (homophobia).
Learn more about Misanthropy.