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Contribution type: New Concept
Concept: Philanthropy
Name of the contributor: Elisa Ricciuti
E-mail of the contributor: mailto:elisa.ricciuti@diceimpact.com
The word Philanthropy comes from the ancient Greek Phil- (love) and – Anthropos (human, humankind) it is generally defined as “the love of humanity”.
In a very broad approach, the term is used as a synonym of “giving” and it usually refers to anything concerned with a charitable activity. In recent decades, though, with inequalities soaring globally and the persistence of mechanisms of wealth accumulation grounded in social injustice, the term is more commonly used with a narrower approach, referring to the «capital provider» side of charitable organizations: high net worth individuals putting their wealth into a very Western-centered, post-industrial institutional setting: the “foundation”.
Since then, the term “philanthropy” has gradually been colonized. From a form of global solidarity between people, rooted in very diverse historical, spiritual and cultural settings all over the planet (ie. “Sadaqah” in the Islamic tradition, or “aroha” in the Maori tradition), the concept has passed to a stable and linear ‘donor-recipient’, ‘giver-asker’, ‘wealthy-needy’ relationship. Through the colonization of the philanthropic narrative, the concept has lost the richness of the multiple values philanthropy brings into the world way beyond money, such as: relationship, trust, generosity, connectedness, appreciation, empathy among others.
This is why philanthropy, as it is understood today, carries a lot of colonial baggage — and why the way we talk about it needs to change. Efforts to reclaim the true nature of philanthropy are gaining space today: we need a radical change in the way the concept takes shape and a reflection on the narrative of power and agency situated in the philanthropic relationship.