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July 24, 2008 2:16:28 PM CDT

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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Dec 14, 07 9:47 AM CST by D Lim | View history

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Ethics of Philanthropy

With wealth to rival the robber barons, the new super-rich are redefining philanthropy, and raising questions about how to change the world.

Stories

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  • July 2008

    • It's Our Tax Money Going to Helmsley's Dogs

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jul 9, 08 8:27 AM CDT

      It's Our Tax Money Going to Helmsley's Dogs

      Leona Helmsley’s latest post-mortem shocker—the revelation that she earmarked $8 billion of her charitable bequest for dog welfare—is a perfect illustration of the insanity of our charity laws, writes Ray Madoff for the New York Times . Helmsley isn’t just spending her own money; because charitable donations are tax-free, the government is essentially subsidizing her whims to the tune of $3.6 billion. More »

    • Teen Prostitutes Find Help at LA Shelter

      newser  |  Good Magazine  |  Jul 6, 08 5:27 AM CDT

      Teen Prostitutes Find Help at LA Shelter

      "I'm their mother," says the founder of a Los Angeles shelter for teen prostitutes. For almost three decades, Children of the Night has focused on helping girls recover from their past rather than treating them like criminals, Good Magazine reports. Shelter founder Lois Lois "isn’t like other social-service types," said one LAPD officer. "Lois sees the big picture." More »

  • June 2008

    • Battered Women Deserve Help Over Animals

      newser  |  More Intelligent Life  |  Jun 25, 08 4:30 PM CDT

      Battered Women Deserve Help Over Animals

      With 3,800 animal shelters in the US to only 1,500 shelters for battered women, economist Allison Schrager tackles the disparity in More Intelligent Life. "If we value people more than animals can we ever justify giving to an animal-welfare charity?" she asks, and underlines the complexities that make donating to human causes harder, but more important. More »

  • May 2008

    • Make Dams and Food, Not War and Ethanol

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  May 22, 08 4:55 PM CDT

      Make Dams and Food, Not War and Ethanol

      Ethanol is among the "poor solutions to high-profile problems" researcher Bjorn Lomborg blasts in the Wall Street Journal . According to calculations by his Copenhagen Consensus, “carbon mitigation policies” return only 90 cents for every dollar spent; in contrast, he writes, $1 billion spent on tuberculosis would result in an “annual economic benefit” of $30 billion. More »

    • 'Disaster Fatigue' Shuts US Wallets

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 20, 08 7:00 AM CDT

      'Disaster Fatigue' Shuts US Wallets

      Americans’ donations to disaster relief this year fall far short of money given to victims of the 2004 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina—and it’s likely due to “disaster fatigue," say experts. With tragedies like Burma’s cyclone and China’s earthquake quickly piling up, people may feel they can’t make a difference, AP reports. As of Friday, Americans had given $12.1 million to Burma, while the tsunami garnered $1.92 billion in US donations. More »

    • Shakira Shakes Cash Loose for Charity

      newser  |  Los Angeles Times  |  May 18, 08 11:30 AM CDT

      Shakira Shakes Cash Loose for Charity

      Shakira, Ricky Martin, and dozens of other Spanish-speaking pop stars performed at simultaneous fundraising concerts in Mexico City and Buenos Aires yesterday, reports the LA Times . “It is doable, we can really eradicate poverty,” said the Colombian singer, whose shows benefited Alas, a charity that helps Latin America's neediest children. Shakira secured nearly $200 million in donations from billionaires Howard Buffet (son of Warren) and Carlos Slim, reports the BBC. More »

    • Mills Stiffs Fellow Amputee

      newser  |  News of the World (UK)  |  May 12, 08 1:25 PM CDT

      Mills Stiffs Fellow Amputee

      Heather Mills has reneged on a well-publicized promise she made to pick up the $20,000 tab for artificial legs for a Russian woman who lost her limbs in a train accident, the News of the World reports. After the photo op and documented promises 4 years ago, the 28-year-old mother was left to beg from a skateboard on the Moscow streets. More »

  • April 2008

    • Harvard Gets $100M From Rockefeller

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Apr 25, 08 3:02 PM CDT

      Harvard Gets $100M From Rockefeller

      Harvard fund managers rejoice! The university will get to stock its coffers, already $35 billion strong, with a $100 million gift from David Rockefeller, the largest ever by an alumnus, the New York Times reports. The money will be used to expand the university's arts program and help more students study abroad. “I was a student, class of 1936," said the billionaire banker. "My experiences there shaped who I am.” More »

    • Hockney Donates 40-Footer to Tate

      newser  |  Times (UK)  |  Apr 8, 08 8:20 AM CDT

      Hockney Donates 40-Footer to Tate

      David Hockney has donated his largest-ever painting to London's Tate museum rather than sell it for a presumed price of several million dollars, reports the Times of London. Hockney, one of the world's foremost figurative painters, said donating the 40-foot-long Bigger Trees Near Warter was a "duty," and added, "You've got to be reasonably generous to be an artist." More »

    • Clintons Made $109M Since 2000

      newser  |  Politico  |  Apr 4, 08 5:55 PM CDT

      Clintons Made $109M Since 2000

      Of the $109 million the Clintons pulled in the past seven years, Bill pulled in the lion’s share: That’s the news in tax files released today, Ben Smith reports on Politico. The long-awaited documents reveal that, with Bill bringing in $80 million from books and speeches, the couple paid $33 million in taxes and gave $10 million to charity. More »

    • Critics: Nonprofit Hospitals Unhealthily Rich

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Apr 4, 08 2:20 PM CDT

      Critics: Nonprofit Hospitals Unhealthily Rich

      Nonprofit hospitals are making more money than for-profit hospitals, and that has many critics wondering why they get such sweet tax breaks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Seventy-seven percent of nonprofits are making money, with at least 25 pulling in more than $250 million a year. Many are spending that money on new facilities and executive pay, rather than charity care. More »

  • March 2008

    • With Big Give , Oprah Shows Smaller Side

      newser  |  New Yorker  |  Mar 21, 08 6:26 PM CDT

      With Big Give , Oprah Shows Smaller Side

      The new ABC show Oprah’s Big Give might be exactly what it claims—an epically scaled, nurturing-obsessed cult of personality—but the format is old and unsuitable, Nancy Franklin writes in the New Yorker , and the star is self-obsessed. The competition charity program sometimes reduced to her tears, Franklin allows, but mastery of manipulation is no great shakes in and of itself. More »

    • Nonprofit Builds Free Houses for Wounded Vets

      newser  |  Christian Science Monitor  |  Mar 20, 08 3:53 PM CDT

      Nonprofit Builds Free Houses for Wounded Vets

      A nonprofit group is putting up customized homes for badly injured vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Massachusetts-based Homes for Our Troops is building in 20 states, fueled by donated supplies, land, and labor. “When a vet is in need, people come out of everywhere to help,” the contractor-turned-founder says. More »

    • Lauder Gives Whitney Museum $131M

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Mar 19, 08 11:52 AM CDT

      Lauder Gives Whitney Museum $131M

      New York's Whitney Museum announced yesterday that its chairman, the cosmetics executive Leonard Lauder, would donate $131 million to boost the institution's endowment. The gift is a transformational sum for the museum, which is devoted to American modern art, and one of the largest donations ever made to a museum endowment. But Lauder's gift has a catch, writes the New York Times : he's requiring the museum to halt plans to move out of its famous building on Madison Avenue. More »

    • Landmark NY Library to Be Renamed for Donor

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Mar 11, 08 3:30 AM CDT

      Landmark NY Library to Be Renamed for Donor

      Following the style of sports stadiums, Manhattan's stately beaux arts library on Fifth Avenue will be renamed for a key contributor to a billion-dollar expansion of the library system. Private equity king Stephen Schwarzman is giving the library $100 million from his several-billion-dollar fortune, reports the New York Times . Schwarzman, 61, chief executive of the Blackstone Group, says renaming the landmark building—with plans to etch his moniker into the facade—was not his idea. More »

  • December 2007

    • New Breed of Billionaire Rises in Third World

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Dec 14, 07 1:26 PM CST

      New Breed of Billionaire Rises in Third World

      A new type of billionaire with a philanthropic bent for social causes is emerging from once-poor nations such as Turkey, India, and Mexico, the New York Times reports. The billionaires, who generally made their money through investment in surging local markets, draw comparison to American titans of old such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, the Times notes. More »

    • You, Too, Can Donate Online

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Dec 13, 07 10:07 AM CST

      You, Too, Can Donate Online

      AOL founder Steve Case’s foundation is launching a major online charity drive today, aimed at using social networks and encouraging small-scale donors to join the ranks of millionaires. The drive consists of a new app, “causes” on Facebook, and a spread in this Sunday’s Parade Magazine . Facebook has 50 million users and Parade has 70 million readers. More »

    • Ditka Versus Da Charity

      newser  |  USA Today  |  Dec 11, 07 11:45 PM CST

      Ditka Versus Da Charity

      Hall of Fame Assistance Trust was little more than friends "just mailing out checks to Hall of Famers we knew were having problems," according to the legendary player, coach and founder of the organization, Mike Ditka. Ditka announced yesterday that he will dissolve the charity, which gave away a mere $57,000 of the $1.3 million it raised, USA Today reports. More »

  • November 2007

    • Chilean Hooker Donates Time to Telethon

      newser  |  Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Nov 30, 07 11:41 AM CST

      Chilean Hooker Donates Time to Telethon

      A 27-hour telethon this weekend In Chile will raise money for disabled children, and one woman has devised a special way to contribute, reports the Telegraph . A prostitute has auctioned off 27 hours of her services and is giving all the proceeds to charity. "I am going to contribute with my work to a purpose that touches me deeply," she said. More »

  • August 2007

    • 'Voluntourism' Feeds Profits, Not Mouths

      newser  |  Times (UK)  |  Aug 14, 07 7:55 AM CDT

      'Voluntourism' Feeds Profits, Not Mouths

      A leading British charity has blasted the new "voluntourism" industry as an amateurish scam, writes the Times of London. The vogue for gap-year travel to developing countries, where young volunteers pay for the privilege of teaching children or building homes does little good and enriches nobody but the travel companies, according to Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 30

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Annie Lennox poses for photographers in the photo room at the "Idol Gives Back" fundraising special of "American Idol" in Los Angeles, Wednesday, April 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)   (Associated Press)
Singer Josh Groban, center, poses with the African Children's Choir in the photo room at Fox's "Idol Gives Back" fundraising television special of "American Idol" in Los Angeles on Wednesday, April 25,...   (Associated Press)
Fran Drescher performs at the The Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk For Women in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday, May 12, 2007. This is a 5K fundraising events for breast and ovarian cancer....   (Associated Press)
Singer Sheryl Crow arrives for the The Entertainment Industry Foundation Revlon Run/Walk For Women in Los Angeles, Calif., Saturday, May 12, 2007. This is a 5K fundraising events for breast and ovarian...   (Associated Press)
Andrew Carnegie, 1896 (LOC)   ((c) pingnews.com)
_MG_3139   ((c) Nacurh2007)
Sherry Lansing, right, former CEO of Paramount Pictures and Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer of Warner Brothers Entertainment, were being honored for their contributions to business and...   (Associated Press)
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100 Years of Philanthropy (c) - English   (stallionav (YouTube))
Judith Rodin: The Changing Practice of Philanthropy   (google (YouTube))

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Background

Straus family
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

German-U.S. merchandising family that distinguished itself in public service and philanthropy. The family originated in Bavaria, and the patriarch, Lazarus Straus, immigrated to the U.S. in 1852, followed by his wife and three sons: Isidor (1845–1912), Nathan (1848–1931), and Oscar ...

» Read more about Straus family at Encyclopedia.com

philanthropy
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

philanthropy the spirit of active goodwill toward others as demonstrated in efforts to promote their welfare. The term is often used interchangeably with charity. Every year vast sums of money are collected for invaluable philanthropic purposes, and an increasing number of people participate in ...

» Read more about philanthropy at Encyclopedia.com

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