Philanthropy is evolving, with corporations playing a growing role among the more traditional players in the sector. Can it be said that they are new philanthropists? Why and what does that mean?

For centuries, philanthropy has been closely linked to the corporate world, mostly because philanthropic initiatives typically emanate from rich individuals or families who have accumulated wealth through their business activities. Indeed, a prerequisite for giving is having. Thus, philanthropists have, traditionally, been successful entrepreneurs willing to give to the ‘needy’ from their wealth, either directly or through foundations. A well-known example is Andrew Carnegie, a successful American entrepreneur who gave away his huge fortune almost entirely by the time of his death in 1919, on the philosophy that ‘the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced’. This is a striking instance of the relatively widespread inclination of people to return the society part of their wealth. Academic researchers found that this inclination often arises from a moral duty towards others or because of the ‘warm glow’ feeling triggered by altruistic behaviour.

Thus, nolens volens, companies have become modern philanthropists, complementing the important role of the more ‘traditional’ actors of the philanthropy sector. Owing to the new corporate actors, their quantitative importance has increased considerably. Concerning its scope, it is no longer limited to religion, health, education, welfare, culture, civic, and community affairs, but now increasingly focuses on other existential dimensions of society, such as climate change. We adhere to the view that the global and key challenges of our future are the endangered environment and the need to alleviate social inequalities stemming from an increasing concentration of wealth. In this context, we believe that corporations as new philanthropists play a key role in tackling these crucial problems in our society.

Read the full article about corporations and philanthropists by Sémia Bey and Henry Peter at Alliance Magazine.