Philanthropy in America: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia

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Summary: Useful Context for American Philanthropy
Review: Philanthropy in America: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia, 3 Volumes by Dwight Burlingame (ABC-CLIO) Woven into the fabric of U.S. history, philanthropy has been an integral part of American life. Philanthropy in America-the first comprehensive treatment of the topic-examines America's remarkable history of charitable action from the early 1600s to the present day. The work was developed under the guidance of Dr. Dwight Burlingame, the nation's foremost expert on philanthropy, and represents a milestone in the study of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations in America.
This all-encompassing resource:
Is the first and only encyclopedia on the topic as a whole
Includes over 200 A-Z entries on individuals, organizations, events, theories, and legislation, with reference to works for further study
Features contributions from nearly 200 leading scholars from a wide variety of disciplines
Offers over 75 essential primary source documents, such as the Poor Laws of 1601 and the Filer Commission Report of 1975
Presents a philanthropic timeline, from the 1601 enactment of the Statute of Charitable Uses to the 1999 establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Provides a deeper understanding and perspective of the role of philanthropy in the United States
This groundbreaking, illustrated work fills the long-felt need for a comprehensive encyclopedia on philanthropy in America. In accessible fashion, it introduces the reader to information and
ideas central to the study of philanthropy, making it a paramount resource for students, scholars, and anyone seeking a broad understanding of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in the United States.
Dwight F. Burlingame is professor of philanthropic studies and director of academic programs at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN. He is the author and editor of several works in the field of corporate citizenship, philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, and libraries.

Excerpt: Philanthropic and nonprofit studies have enjoyed a major growth spurt over the past twenty-five years in the United States, with recent increased attention around the globe. However, some still see the field as a marginal academic enterprise. With substantial contributions by many scholars in various disciplines and professional fields, philanthropic and nonprofit studies programs have given students and teachers alike a fresh perspective on critical issues in our society. Philanthropic studies instructors relate their material to broader cultural, historical, political, and economic themes. This integrative perspective is a defining element that encourages analytic skill and develops an intellectual, global view that emphasizes the complexity and thematic relationships of a civil society. The authors of the articles in this encyclopedia have made this objective central to their work in contributing to a liberal education.
In the mid-1990s, I had several conversations with my colleagues at Indiana University about the need foran encyclopedia of philanthropy. Those conversations usually ended with the conclusion that it would be an impossible task to get one's arms and mind around such a broad field. It wasn't until my friend and colleague in philanthropic studies at Indiana, David Smith, provided the sage advice that I should undertake this task as an opportunity to make a "significant" contribution to the field, that I decided to pursue the project. With support and encouragement from colleagues at the Center on Philanthropy and a former editor from ABC-CLIO, a contract was signed and work commenced.
Deciding what to include in this three-volume set was not an easy task, as philanthropic studies is a very broad field. To select the entries, I worked with an advisory committee composed of scholars, nonprofit practitioners, and educators. Final determination for what was included, however, was my responsibility. Volumes 1 and 2 include articles on notable people, events, and associations as well as on numerous other important topics in philanthropy. Volume 3 brings together original documents in the field.
More than 175 authors participated in the project. For the most part, the essays were written by well-known specialists in their chosen topical area. In a few cases, bright graduate students from the philanthropic studies or nonprofit management programs at Indiana University, Indianapolis, wrote entries.
Needless to say, thousands of significant individuals have contributed and are currently contributing to the history of giving, volunteering, and social action in the United States. Therefore, my inclusion of a historical figure is very selective and has been made on the basis of a representative type of those who have shaped the history of philanthropy, that is, the history of voluntary action (giving of time, treasure, and talent) intended for the public good. I was greatly assisted in this selection matter by a previous project, Notable American Philanthropists: Biographies of Giving and Volunteering (2002), which was directed by Robert T. Grimm Jr. and made possible by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. Users may find more extensive philanthropic biographies of many of the people covered in this encyclopedia by consulting that work.
Organizations selected for inclusion are those most directly related to the philanthropic infrastructure of the field and its development over time. Needless to say, there is no attempt to include all philanthropic organizations or nonprofits. For profiles of current charitable nonprofits, readers are referred to GuideStar, available online at http://www.guidestar.org.
Contributors have attempted to introduce the reader to particular ideas and areas of study in philanthropy and have often included significant bibliographic references to allow the reader to further explore the topic under consideration.
In Volume 3, I endeavored to select the fundamental documents and excerpts that provided the foundation for the development of philanthropy and a non-profit sector in America. Again, it is important to note that this needed to be a selective representation, and the final decision of what to include was dictated by availability of material and subjective judgment. In addition to historical documents, I sought some representative works from literature that provided visions of what the state of philanthropy was or should have been within historical time frames. Even though the documents speak for themselves, I have included brief notes to provide a contextual guide for the reader.
Many historians have characterized the eleemosynary history of the United States as one of American exceptionalism and the individual quest for wealth. As my colleague Lawrence Friedman and his coauthors argued in their recent history of American philanthropy (Philanthropy, Charity and Civility in American History, 2003), the development of philanthropy in the United States is better understood as a missionary quest by givers (of time and/or money) to impose their view of what is good on society writ large. Taking this perspective, American history reads like an ongoing tension play between morals and money, or between obligations to others and those to self. One can make a reasonable case that the history of philanthropy in the United States seems to be informed by Adam Smith's ethical doctrines, a combination of Christian and Stoic virtues. For the student who wishes to pursue this idea, re-viewing Smith's The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759) is a good starting point.