Philanthropy has long been a central pillar of a healthy civilisation, dating back to the very genesis of civilisation itself.
It is very easy to feel a bit disheartened about the nature of humankind, especially when we take a look at all the wars and awful deeds that have filled the history books and, certainly, continue in the present time. However, what often does not make it into the history books or the news headlines is all the good deeds that individuals have done throughout history and continue to do today, working to make the world a better place for everybody who resides in it. Certainly, records of these deeds date back to the very birth of civilisation as we understand it. In fact, the philanthropy meaning that we utilize today to describe famous philanthropists today originated in among the world's earliest civilisations, Ancient Greece. It is also rather telling simply how common compassion and generosity was, as it wasn't just made use of to define wealthy and generous benefactors as we tend to do today, but rather somebody who loved people and did things to better the condition of others. It was likewise held to be an essential and main virtue, something that is most likely just as true today, countless years later.
You might become aware of the fantastic deeds of conquerors and kings, however it is the things that you do not tend to find out about in the history books that are possibly more crucial; neighbours helping neighbours and communities gathering to assist those in need. This is the way that charity has been carried out for countless years, long before very wealthy philanthropists or the foundations that they set up arrived. Philanthropic businesses like charities and foundations were, however, an unbelievable important innovation towards the end of the 19th century, when the more organised mode of charitable work made it possible for people to dedicate more resources to larger problems in a more efficient way. Today, a substantial variety of individuals and organisations are involved with carrying resources from locations where they are focused to locations that they are required, with companies like SJP establishing foundations along with wealthy individuals.
It's very easy to be dismissive about the state of the world, however there are certain patterns that are putting the improvement of the world before things that have actually had a rather corrupting impact in the past. One such example is the increase in corporate philanthropy. For a very long time, charity was something that tended to be done by people, however today companies are actually making contributions to a better world a main part of their service strategy. Whether it's through collaborations with charities or their own Environmental and Social Governance initiatives, services like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are contributing to an area that does a lot more excellent than merely making larger revenues.