Philanthropy

/fɪˈlæn.θɹə.piː/ · noun

Meaning

(chiefly uncountable) Benevolent altruism with the intention of increasing the well-being of humankind..

Definitions by Sense

1. (chiefly uncountable) Benevolent altruism with the intention of increasing the well-being of humankind.
2. (uncountable) Charitable giving, charity.
3. (countable) A philanthropic act.
4. (countable) A charitable foundation.

Example Sentences

Secondly, Another excellent Diſpoſition in Chriſt, is his Love, not only his Phylanthropy, or good Will he bears to all men, and the Deſire he hath of their Salvation, Ezek[iel] 33. 11.

[T]he spirit of the Gospel has given to many of its enlightened disciples, the impulse of such a philanthropy as carries abroad their wishes and their endeavours to the very outskirts of human population—philanthropy, of which, if you asked the extent or the boundary of its field, we should answer, in the language of inspiration, that 'the field is the world;' a philanthropy which overlooks all the distinctions of cast and of colour, and spreads its ample regards over the whole brotherhood of the species; a philanthropy which attaches itself to man in the general; […]

The philanthropy needed, which shall be ever ready to toil, and possessed of an untiring patience equal to perpetual contest with difficulty, is a philanthropy which looks beyond the outward, and is moved by something more durable than mere sensibility or sympathy for physical distress. It is a philanthropy which, underneath rags and filth, shrouded by the darkness of ignorance, oppressed and stifled by the warfare of passion, can catch glimpses of the immortal spirit.

Because an individual should have been an habitual drunkard, however thoroughly and soundly he may have reformed, yet according to this doctrine, he is forever totally debarred the privilege of rising to the level, in a moral view, of that individual who has never been drunk; this is, indeed, holding out a weak incentive for such reformations. This is not the language of true Phylanthropy; this is not the doctrine of Christianity; in the sight of the Saviour, the prostrate, self abased, self condemned publican, was accepted rather than the haughty, self righteous Pharisee […]

Doing philanthropy involves acts as diverse as consoling or cavorting with a child who has cancer, taking tickets at an art exhibit, writing a check for a relief agency, investing in the endowment of a private liberal arts college, and raising the funds that make the endowment possible.

As public funding is reduced, we depend increasingly on private philanthropy.

I have tried, as I hinted, to enlist the co-operation of other capitalists, but experience has taught me that any appeal is futile that does not impinge directly upon cupidity. If there is the least hint of philanthropy in the project, every man of money fights shy of it.

Turning large fortunes into public assets for the good of mankind was a huge project. But what gave philanthropy even more of a central place in modern American life was the simultaneous creation of a people's philanthropy—or mass philanthropy—that engaged the large American middle and working classes in their own welfare. Philanthropy would not be a democratic value if it remained the domain of the wealthy. Only when the rest of the population aligned its old welfare institutions and charitable habits to the systematic search for the common good would philanthropy become a national commitment.

Synonyms for philanthropy

Antonyms for philanthropy

Related Words

Word Forms

• philanthropies
• phylanthropy

Usage Notes

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