This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This cutting edge text considers how Asian philanthropists and charitable organizations break with Western philanthropic traditions and examines the key traits and trends that make social investment in Asia unique. Based on 30 case studies of excellent social delivery organizations (SDOs) and social enterprises as well as interviews with ultra-high net-worth individuals throughout Asia, this book examines which characteristics and strategies lead to successful philanthropy and social delivery organizations. Providing evidence based findings on philanthropy, social investment and social delivery organizations in Asia, this book provides invaluable resources for those wishing to deepen their understanding of the sector and what this means for political and economic development in the region.

Philanthropic foundations are experiencing a crisis of professional identity. They attract considerable hopes due to an unusually high degree of independence and freedom of manoeuvre, which theoretically places them in a privileged position to find novel solutions to societies’ most severe and intractable problems. However, the field is said to suffer from a pervasive lack of orientation as to how these aspirations can be realized. Compared to other professions, it can be said that there exists neither reliable knowledge nor established practices which might guide the strategy development and the daily practice of foundations. This void is frequently filled by changing fads which present easy to grasp recipes and often make bold promises of how foundations can change the world. Yet, none of them has ever met these expectations. Philanthropy in Practice shows how philanthropic organizations can effectively address this predicament. Drawing on the public philosophy of Pragmatism, it argues that, to be effective, they need to go for the solution of social problems of middle range. The book puts at center stage the crucial role of niches in terms of bounded, protected and stable social spaces which are rich in resources. They render possible the experiments required to develop effective interventions and facilitate the retention of novel solutions to social problems. The model builds upon, and is illustrated by four in-depth case studies from the UK, Germany and Switzerland. With its sharp analytical eye and substantial evidence, Philanthropy in Practice will reshape the way we think about the questions of what impact philanthropy can reasonably hope to achieve, and by which means.

This cutting edge text considers how Asian philanthropists and charitable organizations break with Western philanthropic traditions and examines the key traits and trends that make social investment in Asia unique. Based on 30 case studies of excellent social delivery organizations (SDOs) and social enterprises as well as interviews with ultra-high net-worth individuals throughout Asia, this book examines which characteristics and strategies lead to successful philanthropy and social delivery organizations. Providing evidence based findings on philanthropy, social investment and social delivery organizations in Asia, this book provides invaluable resources for those wishing to deepen their understanding of the sector and what this means for political and economic development in the region. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This cutting edge text considers how Asian philanthropists and charitable organizations break with Western philanthropic traditions and examines the key traits and trends that make social investment in Asia unique. Based on 30 case studies of excellent social delivery organizations (SDOs) and social enterprises as well as interviews with ultra-high net-worth individuals throughout Asia, this book examines which characteristics and strategies lead to successful philanthropy and social delivery organizations. Providing evidence based findings on philanthropy, social investment and social delivery organizations in Asia, this book provides invaluable resources for those wishing to deepen their understanding of the sector and what this means for political and economic development in the region.

Following the life of a charismatic woman committed to reform, The Pragmatic Ideal provides an introduction to the politics that dominated the early decades of the twentieth century, ideas that are the basis for much of today's progressive thought. As one of the "new women" who came of age during the Progressive era, Mary Field Parton, a close friend of Clarence Darrow, pursued social justice as a settlement house worker and as a leading writer on labor organizing, transforming pragmatic principles into action. Mark Douglas McGarvie shows how, following the upheavals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, liberals such as Mary Field Parton turned to pragmatism, hoping to generate greater social awareness from constructions of values rooted in personal experiences instead of philosophical or religious truths. The Pragmatic Ideal reveals how Mary Field Parton sought to expand her rights as a woman while nonetheless denigrating rights as artificial legal impediments to social progress. The issues she faced and the options she considered find important currency in the political divisions confronting Americans a century later.

Intended as an essential introduction to philanthropy, this book provides a balanced, analytical, interdisciplinary overview of a complex, and often controversial, topic. Using case studies to illustrate the narrative, it covers everything from the history of individual, sometimes eccentric, philanthropists, to the controversies and challenges of ‘philanthrocapitalism’. This book explores philanthropists and their motivations: who are they and why do they give their money away? It explains what philanthropy does: its history and scope, and the impacts it has in areas such as science and the arts. The governance of philanthropy is explored: how decisions are reached about donations and their accountability. The book addresses the major controversies surrounding philanthropy, and discusses the difficulties involved in giving and receiving, e.g. the importance of ensuring that these processes are transparent and accountable. Lastly, the book considers the future of philanthropy, especially its changing role in society and the disruptive impact of digital technologies. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for researchers interested in philanthropy, innovation and entrepreneurship, the motivations for individual and corporate donations, and the business of giving in general.

"Political controversy is a lens through which the author examines corporate philanthropy. He explains why corporate philanthropy has become politicized, how corporations, respond to controversy about their donations, and what the conflicts tell us about corporate phlanthropy and corproate politics. Himmelstein argues that corporate giving sometimes becomes politicized because it is inherently a complex social and political act. Drawing on in-depth interviews with managers at fifty-five of the largest corporate giving programs in the U.S., Himmelstein shows that corporate giving often finds itself, as one manager put it, locked in a 'struggle between looking good and doing good.'"--Back cover.