What is Philanthropy?

Philanthropy etymologically means “the love of humanity”, in the sense of “what it is to be human”, the essence of our humanity. In modern practical terms, it is “private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life” – balancing the social-scientific aspect emphasized in the twentieth century, with the long-traditional and original humanistic core of the word’s ancient coinage. Put simply, philanthropy is the pursuit of excellence in every facet of human life, for every human life, by imagining and implementing new systems, to bring that philosophy to fruition. (No, it’s not “pursuit of excellence in every facet of human life”. According to dictionaries, philanthropy is “an altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.”)