Stuck in the Poorhouse

When Americans think of welfare before the twentieth century, we usually think of the poorhouse. Poorhouses were expensive investments, though, rising and falling in popularity throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This chapter focuses on the generation of Americans most affected by poorhouses through the life of William Fales, an articulate, devout Christian who suffered from severe rheumatism. Voters’ great hopes for poorhouses were that they would save towns’ money in the long run, and provide more humane care. Fales’s experience shows what these poorhouses were actually like. While Fales does not stand in for every poorhouse inmate, his life shows how isolating and dangerous poorhouses could be, and what opportunities for fellowship inside a poorhouse could be. His life also shows how private philanthropy could complement poor relief.

The Importance of Fundraising and Endowments: The Role of Private Philanthropy

Colleges and universities in the United States have a unique component as part of their fiscal resources. Most institutions throughout the world rely on (1) federal and/or state funding and (2) tuition revenue to support their university. Many countries also have largely federal funding for research that supports the institution through indirect costs, as well as off-sets for faculty salaries and laboratories.

The Duties of Private Donors

This chapter focuses on the philanthropist as one kind of private actor. It argues that the philanthropist's duty to give should be understood neither as an imperfect duty of beneficence nor as a conclusive duty of justice, but rather as a transitional and provisional duty of reparative justice in contemporary societies. It also explains a duty that is “transitional,” as it should eventually be taken over by public institutions, or “provisional,” for in the absence of just institutions its fulfilment is simultaneously demanded by individual independence. The chapter explains why the duty is “reparative” as it is grounded on the wealthy's liability for wrongful harm to the poor. It discusses the funding of justice through private philanthropy and the provision of justice through private organizations.

Pandemic expands role of South-east Asian philanthropy

Subject Private philanthropy. Significance In South-east Asia, as elsewhere, there is growing pressure on civil society, from non-profit organisations to corporations, to help address the economic distress and social dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Impacts Despite government and philanthropic efforts, South-east Asia is expected to experience a severe recession. A rise in philanthropy by religious organisations will fuel religious polarisation and the risk of violence post-crisis. Indonesia’s non-profit sector will likely experience a particularly sharp funding dip as foreign donations fall.

Institutionalizing Quantum Gravitational Research

This chapter describes the establishment of such a quantum gravity-friendly environment that enabled it to go out into the world on its own, somewhat less dependent on other areas of physics. It is more concerned with the development of basic infrastructure. The focus is on private philanthropy and the reasons behind a mid-century surge in funding for gravitational and quantum gravitational physics, which themselves are centered around the establishment of the Institute of Field Physics.