The adage "give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime" is at the heart of the difference between charity and philanthropy. Philanthropy derives from the Greek term Philanthropos, which means the "love of humanity" (Philos-love and Anthropos-humanity or mankind). While the roots of charity are often religious or moral in nature, philanthropy is based on broader humanitarian principles. Philanthropy broadly encompasses any altruistic activity intended to serve others, or the act of donating money, goods and services to support a socially beneficial or humanitarian cause, with no financial or material reward to the donor. More specifically, charity focuses on solving a current problem, or responding to an immediate need of an individual or a group, whereas philanthropy aims to effect change through giving. It encompasses any attempt to deal with the problems of society as a whole, by preventing the conditions that created those problems and addressing the root causes of individual or collective needs. Philanthropy often relates to expression of one's values ¬ be they religious, cultural or personal.
Several such individuals and their families have set up their own private foundations for philanthropy. Most are either first or second generation entrepreneurs such as Azim Premji or multi-generational family businesses.
[This article has been reproduced with permission from the Indian School of Business, India]
I wonder why the so called corporate giants has not turned on the socio eco situation apart from their own way of philonthropy like charity running etc.,
on Apr 19, 2011