Philanthropy

Philanthropy is a unique characteristic of American society, and public relations practitioners play an important role in preserving the tradition of giving and helping. Broadly defined, philanthropy is voluntary action for the public good, including [Page 647]voluntary giving, voluntary service, and voluntary association.

Our tradition of philanthropy was dramatically demonstrated in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Within hours after the attacks, millions of dollars in unsolicited contributions began pouring into the offices of disaster-relief charities. By week three, gifts surpassed $750 million. One month after the tragedy, the total stood at $1 billion.

About 140 charitable organizations were involved in collecting and distributing the financial assistance so generously given. These organizations are part of our country's nonprofit sector, which is composed of more than 1.6 million tax-exempt organizations that are neither businesses nor government agencies. Collectively, their mission is to provide “goods” not provided by the business sector, which is ruled by the marketplace, or by the government sector, which is ruled by the ballot box. The nonprofit sector, also known as the voluntary or third sector of the U.S. economy, is grounded in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to form associations. Nonprofit organizations are the operationalization of voluntary action and serve as a conduit for voluntary giving and service. For example, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, charity officials reported that offers of volunteer help, blood donations, and donated goods were so numerous that they far exceeded immediate needs. Across the United States, without being asked, people left families, jobs, and their own problems to travel to the disaster sites to do whatever they could.

As dramatic as this demonstration was, it should not be viewed as an aberration. A historic and deeply rooted cultural belief in the United States is that social needs, to the greatest possible extent, should be addressed by private voluntary action rather than by government. Americans also eschew a dominant role for churches in meeting social needs, which is prevalent in countries with one state religion. Philanthropy is highly salient in U.S. society because it is linked to such core values as religious freedom, opposition to powerful government, and individualism.

In his book on the history of U.S. fundraising, Scott Cutlip (1965/1990) stated, “America's philanthropy is typically American—born of the cooperative and generous spirit bred on the frontier, required by the problems of large-scale industrialization and urbanization, [and] made possible by the enormous accumulation of capital wealth” (pp. 530–531). Cutlip reported that during World War I, the American Red Cross War Council raised $114 million in just 8 days—an amount that when adjusted for inflation far surpasses the $129 million raised by the Red Cross in the same number of days following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. President Woodrow Wilson had proclaimed June 18–25, 1917, as National Red Cross Week, and the amount of money given in that short time represented more than $1 for every man, woman, and child in the United States.