Philanthropy for Social Action

Historically, philanthropy had little regard for social justice. The rich and powerful utilized philanthropy, that is, a charitable act or gift, ostensibly for humanitarian purposes but mostly for their own self-serving ends. Advocacy for the oppressed was hardly on the agenda.

With this background, it is unrealistic to expect philanthropy to support activism and social justice for the poor and oppressed, because such philanthropy must, of necessity, upset the status of the rich and powerful. Nevertheless, research and observation indicate that philanthropy in the United States has supported activism and social justice to some extent. Moreover, the data suggest that social justice is being supported to a greater degree now than in the past, though it is far from philanthropy's primary concerns, which are religion, education, health, and human services.

The history of nonprofit advocacy has its origins in early humanitarian reform efforts. For example, during the 19th century, Dorothea Dix worked to improve the lives of those in prisons and insane asylums, and women from all classes and races in American society created settlement houses for needy transients and visited homes of the poor to distribute alms or advice. Individual philanthropic contributions such as these often led to activism for social justice, including attempts to influence local, state, and federal political decisions and to enfranchise women and racial minorities.

Voluntary mutual benefit associations were also important forerunners to today's social justice activism. They frequently became vital agencies of change, challenging the status quo. Over time, such associations extended civil rights and protections, for example, by aiding immigrants, working to free slaves, and demanding better treatment for the mentally ill. Scholar and community foundation director Emmett Carson observed that mutual aid societies, which were crucial for Negro survival in the 19th century, gave birth eventually to an African American philanthropy that was the volunteer and financial bases of the 20th-century civil rights movement. Asian Americans' philanthropy evolved in a similar manner, [Page 1112]from mutual aid societies concerned with human welfare issues of local communities to national social justice and legal aid organizations, which usually target immigrant and indigent populations, racial and cultural stereotyping, and anti-Asian violence. Hispanic philanthropy has been similar.

Today, individual donors are the most important source of philanthropic funds in the United States. In 2004, they accounted for $208 billion (84%) out of $248 billion total charitable giving. Most was from living donors ($188 billion), the rest from bequests from deceased donors ($20 billion). Other than the largest donations each year, not a lot is known of individual giving as it affects activism and social justice.

A review of all gifts of $5 million or more in 2004—there were quite a few—reveals only one donation to a progressive social action organization: $15 million to Human Rights Watch (and another gift of $10 million to the right-wing Heritage Foundation). Most large individual gifts support universities, foundations, and medical centers. Yet the Environmental Support Center reports that a significant majority of the money for environmental activism comes from individual donors. The most public critic of philanthropy, Pablo Eisenberg, has stated that very few major donors (i.e., those giving more than $1 million per year) give to organizations serving the poor or the working class or to advocacy and policy groups.

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