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 voluntary giving, voluntary service, and voluntary association.

Our tradition of philanthropy was dramatically demonstrated in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. Within hours after the terrorist attacks, millions of dollars in unsolicited contributions began pouring into the offices of disaster-relief charities. [Page 618]In just seven days, donations to such charities and to special funds established to aid victims, their families, and communities approached $250 million. By week three, gifts surpassed $750 million. One month after the tragedy, the total stood at $1 billion.

Gifts came from individuals, corporations, and foundations—the three types of donor publics. Listing just a few examples, Chicago firefighters standing on street corners collected $360,000 in one day; film, television, and recording stars generated an estimated $150 million in pledges during a twohour telethon broadcast on 35 networks just 10 days after the terrorist attacks; the corporate foundation for Citigroup gave $15 million to establish a scholarship fund for all victims' children; the Coca-Cola Company, its foundation, and its bottling partners gave $12 million to be divided among several relief organizations; the Lilly Endowment, one of the five largest independent foundations, pledged $30 million to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the September 11 Fund; and the Ford Foundation gave $10 million.

About 140 charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross, 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 1.4 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 Constitution, which guarantees the right to form associations. Nonprofits 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. Relief organizations were inundated by volunteers. 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 a surprising aberration. A historic and deeply rooted cultural belief in the United States is that our country's 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. In other words, 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.

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