philanthropy

phi·lan·thro·py

noun \fə-ˈlan(t)-thrə-pē\

plural phi·lan·thro·pies

Definition of PHILANTHROPY

1

: goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially : active effort to promote human welfare

2

a : an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes

b : an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes

Examples of PHILANTHROPY

1. The family's philanthropy made it possible to build the public library.
2. <among the industrialist's philanthropies was a college scholarship fund for deserving students from the inner city>
3. For many years, Microsoft has used corporate philanthropy to bring technology to people who can't get it otherwise, donating more than $3 billion in cash and software to try to bridge the digital divide. —Bill Gates, Time, 11 Aug. 2008
4. Cooper, born in New York City in 1791, was himself an inventor and a hands-on industrialist, whose fortune got its start in the glue business, greatly expanded in the iron industry, eventually included more than half the telegraph lines in the United States, and was significantly invested in philanthropy and the cause of public education. —John Updike, New York Review of Books, 10 Aug. 2006
5. In conditions of anarchy, a crude and violent order, based upon brute force and psychopathic ruthlessness, soon establishes itself, which regards philanthropy not as a friend but as an enemy and a threat. —Theodore Dalrymple, National Review, 26 Sept. 2005

Origin of PHILANTHROPY

Late Latin philanthropia, from Greek philanthrōpia, from philanthrōpos loving people, from phil- + anthrōpos human being

First Known Use: circa 1623

Related to PHILANTHROPY

Synonyms

alms, benefaction, beneficence, charity, donation, contribution

Antonyms

cheapness, closeness, meanness, miserliness, parsimony, penuriousness, pinching, selfishness, stinginess, tightness, ungenerosity

Related Words

offering, tithe; bequest, endowment, legacy; aid, assistance, dole, handout, relief, welfare; grant, subsidy; benevolence, bestowal, largesse (also largess), present, presentation

Near Antonyms

conserving, economizing, economy, frugality, husbandry, providence, scrimping, skimping, thrift; conservation, saving; husbanding, managing; scraping; cutting back

philanthropy

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Voluntary, organized efforts intended for socially useful purposes. Philanthropic groups existed in the ancient civilizations of the Middle East, Greece, and Rome: an endowment supported Plato's Academy (c. 387 BC) for some 900 years; the Islamic waqf (religious endowment) dates to the 7th century AD; and the medieval Christian church administered trusts for benevolent purposes. Merchants in 17th- and 18th-century western Europe founded organizations for worthy causes. Starting in the late 19th century, large personal fortunes led to the creation of private foundations that bequeathed gifts totaling millions and then billions in support of the arts, education, medical research, public policy, social services, environmental causes, and other special interests. See Andrew Carnegie; B'nai B'rith; Bill Gates; George Peabody; Rockefeller Foundation; Straus family.