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Tradition or practice

African Philanthropy Narratives

While the word ‘philanthropy’ is not used much in Africa, it is a central part of African identity. Embedded within everyday practices and traditions, majority of African giving is rooted in values of solidarity, r...

Tradition or practice

Caffè Sospeso

Caffè sospeso (“suspended coffee”) refers to the practice of buying an extra cup of coffee at a...

Event or movement

Industrial Revolutions

Over the last 250 years, almost every society on the globe has been dramatically affected by the radical...

Person or Organization

Hürrem Sultan

Hürrem Sultan (c. 1504-1558) was the wife of Sultan Suleiman I (the Magnificent) and one of the most pow...

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Altruism

Altruism refers to the unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Derived from the Italian alteri

Amish Frolic

In Amish society, a frolic refers to a work project in which community members come together to help eac...

Ballot Kametti

Ballot Kametti are informal, interest-free saving circles that are governed by millions of housewives, s...

Bayanihan

In Filipino culture, bayanihan is a form of volunteerism rooted in shared cultural identity.

Bulungi Bwansi

In the heart of Uganda, where people value cooperation, generosity, and solidarity, a practice that enco...

Caffè Sospeso

Caffè sospeso (“suspended coffee”) refers to the practice of buying an extra cup of coffee at a...

Chalayplasa

The chalayplasa is a network of barter-based food markets that exists among the Quechua, an ind...

Chilimba

IntroductionRooted in centuries-old traditions, Zambia's culture is deeply int...

Chit Funds

A chit fund – also known as a kuri or chitty – is a financial instrument that enables individua...

Committee of Friends

The committee of friends is a small but long-lasting association formed by six friends in 1974 at Owodok...

Community Foundations

A community foundation is a tax-exempt nonprofit organization with a directive to build permanent, publi...

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese school of thought rooted in principles of social order, ethical conduct and ed...

Dāna

Dāna refers to the practice of giving in Indian religious tradition. The word _dāna _is derived...

Die na Njangi

Cameroonians are generally considered to be generous. They often show concern for one another and are su...

Eva-Evo Isoko

The Eva-Evo Isoko (translated as "oneness of mind") was founded in 1995 as a cooperative society that on...

Food and Generosity

Food is both a necessity and a gift. In addition to enabling people to lead healthy and productive lives...

Friendly Societies

Friendly societies are mutual aid associations that pool financial resources to provide insurance covera...

Generosity and Health

Productive, thriving societies rely on the good health of their citizens. Quality healthcare promotes ph...

Gift Economies

Gift economies are systems of exchange in which people give and receive goods and services without an ex...

Giving Blood

Giving blood serves a critical function in healthcare networks across the world. Access to safe blood su...

Giving in Buddhism

Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest major religions. It originated in India in the fifth century with ...

Giving in Indonesia

The practice of giving holds a prominent place in Indonesian society. Historically, generosity in Indone...

Giving in Sikhism

Giving in Sikhism is centered around the practice of seva, a Sanskrit word meaning “selfless se...

Gotong-Royong

Gotong-Royong refers to the principle of mutual cooperation at the core of Indonesian ethical l...

Hadiya

The landscape of religious practice in Senegal is profoundly shaped by Sufi brotherhoods known as Ta...

Harambee

Harambee (pronounced hah-RAHM-bay), is a Swahili word meaning “let us all pull together.” The o...

Idernan

The following account of Idernan comes from Khadija Amahal, a member of the Amazigh people of southe...

Ilima/Nhimbe

About ilima/nhimbeThere are multiple forms and origins of philanthropy across Africa, beyond th...

Kazakh Hospitality

Hospitality lies at the heart of Kazakh cultural identity. To uphold this rich heritage, the Kazakh peop...

Kibbutzim

Derived from the Hebrew word for “gathering,” a kibbutz is a cooperative settlement organized according ...

Kindness and Generosity

The correlation between kindness and giving dates to antiquity. Indeed, the word philanthropy derives fr...

Meitheal

Meitheal (pronounced meh_-haal) is an Irish word referring to a gang or crowd of voluntary ...

Motho le Motho Kgomo

In 1976, Botswana's government wanted to build a university, but the country did not have enough resourc...

Mutual Aid

Mutual aid is a form of collective action through which people join together to support each other durin...

Omiyage

Omiyage refers to a tradition of Japanese giving wherein travelers bring back souvenirs – espec...

Omugwo

African culture is infused with traditions that often revolve around family, community, and giving. One ...

Organ Donation

Organ donation refers to the process whereby one person (living, or in the event of their death) donates...

Persian Taaroff

Taarof (also Taʿārof) refers to a complex code of behaviors and linguistic practices t...

Potlatch

Potlatch is a gift-giving ceremony practiced by indigenous populations in the Pacific Northwest of the U...

Private Foundations

Private foundations are charitable vehicles that are typically funded by an individual donor, family or ...

Random Acts of Kindness

“Random acts of kindness” refer to spontaneous expressions of everyday generosity – incidental good deed...

Redovy Dance

Redovy dance is a folk tradition performed at some Slovak weddings by the bride and groom. It invites al...

Remittances

In the context of global economic development, remittances refer to sums of money sent by migrant worker...

ROSCAs

Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) are banking cooperatives in which members pool their m...

Sikh Langar

Langar, the practice of preparing and serving a free communal meal for all those who want it, i...

Spring Wells Revived

A very old Slavic spring tradition is the cleaning of the wells – a public service provided by young vol...

Susu

A Susu is one kind of Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA), a type of mutual aid or informal ...

Tandas

A tanda is a form of economic cooperation in which participants pool their money in order to he...

Tithing

Tithing refers to the practice of donating a portion of one’s revenue to a church, religious organizatio...

Ubudehe

Ubudehe refers to the long-standing tradition of Rwandan practices and its culture of collective action ...

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a philosophical concept distinctive to Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. Derived ...

Volunteerism

Volunteerism refers to a form of generosity in which someone contributes to the welfare of others withou...

Xenia

Xenia refers to the Greek custom of providing hospitality to strangers. The concept derives fro...

Event or movement

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Abolitionism

Abolitionism refers to the various reform movements that fought to end slavery in Europe and the America...

Collective 490

Le Collectif 490 des Hors-la-loi du Maroc (Collective 490 of Moroccan Outlaws) is dedicated to ...

DC Central Kitchen

DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is a groundbreaking social enterprise that prepares and delivers free meals in...

Diggers and Levellers

The Diggers and the Levellers were radical protest groups that arose during the English Civil Wars (1642...

Effective Altruism

Effective Altruism (EA) is a philosophical and philanthropic movement that employs empirical data and ra...

Globalization

The word “Globalization” has many meanings. Over the last several thousand years there have been several...

Hands Across America

Hands Across America was a humanitarian mega-event to raise money and public awareness to combat hunger ...

Industrial Revolutions

Over the last 250 years, almost every society on the globe has been dramatically affected by the radical...

Insulin & Novo Nordisk

Insulin, a vital hormone for metabolism regulation, was discovered in 1921 by Frederick Banting and Char...

Mass Media Campaigns

Mass media are a means of conveying messages a vast target audience. The media with which we are familia...

Mud Angels

Mud Angels (angeli del fango) was the name given to an international brigade of volunteers – mo...

National Gallery

The National Gallery of Art is a museum in Washington, D.C. Established by an act of Congress in 1937, t...

Telethons

A telethon is a live fundraising event aimed at inspiring television audiences to give money to charity....

Živena's Return

Živena is an important Slovakian women's organization focused on charity and education. It played an imp...

Person or Organization

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1% for the Planet

1% for the Planet is an international membership organization that believes businesses have a moral duty...

ACT UP

ACT UP – the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power – was founded in New York City in 1987 to combat AIDS stigm...

Aicha Chenna

Aïcha Chenna (1941-2022) was a Moroccan nurse, social worker and human rights activist who devoted her l...

Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was a Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist. Founder of Ca...

Anshu Gupta and Goonj

Anshu Gupta — popularly known as the Clothing Man — is an acclaimed Indian social entrepreneur and found...

ART 2030

Art 2030 is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) t...

ArtistShare

ArtistShare is a music label and crowdfunding platform that supports artistic expression by connecting m...

Azim Premji Foundation

The Azim Premji Foundation, founded in 2001 by Indian businessman Azim Hashim Premji, is dedicated to tr...

Babar Ali

Babar Ali is a pioneering Indian educator and human rights activist. His school, Ananda Siksha Niketan —...

Barefoot College

Barefoot College is a grassroots organization based in Rajasthan, India. The school provides technical t...

Bart Weetjens and APOPO

APOPO is a Belgian nongovernmental organization (NGO) dedicated to eradicating landmines in regions rava...

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded in 2006 by Michael R. Bloomberg, blends the experiences of its founder...

Born This Way Foundation

Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) supports youth mental health by validating young people’s feelings and l...

BRAC

BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities) is a global NGO committed to helping people raise themselve...

C. J. Walker

Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) was a pioneering African-American entrepreneur, activist and philanthropis...

Charles Henry de Soysa

Charles Henry de Soysa (1836-1890; full name Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagoonewardene Vipula Jayasuriya...

Cooper Union

Founded in 1859 by American inventor and industrialist Peter Cooper, the Cooper Union for the Advancemen...

Coworker.org

Coworker.org is an online organizing platform dedicated to helping workers take collective action to neg...

Cristiano Ronaldo

Christiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese football player and philanthropist. One of the most internationally-r...

Dashrath Manjhi

Dashrath Manjhi (1934-2007), popularly known as “The Mountain Man,” became a legend in India after carvi...

David Suzuki Foundation

David Suzuki (1936- ) is a Canadian geneticist, author and environmental activist. He is co-founder of t...

Doctors Without Borders

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, is an international humanitarian nonprofit t...

Dorothea Dix

Dorothea Dix (1802-1877) was an American social reformer who dedicated her life to championing the human...

Edhi Foundation

Based in Karachi, Pakistan, the Edhi Foundation is a humanitarian organization dedicated to providing me...

Elizabeth Fry

Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) was an influential British prison reformer, social justice activist and Quaker...

Favela Painting Project

The Favela Painting Project is a community beautification program based in the Vila Cruzeiro favela

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) was a British nurse, statistician and social reformer whose work was gu...

Fondazione Cariplo

The Fondazione Cariplo is a Milan-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting philanthropic initiat...

Food Not Bombs

Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a global network of autonomous collectives dedicated to recovering discarded foo...

George Peabody

George Peabody (1795-1869) was an American merchant and financier who rose from material poverty to beco...

Gino Strada and Emergency

Gino Strada (1948-2021) was an Italian surgeon, humanitarian and activist. A co-founder of the NGO Emerg...

Giving Pledge

The Giving Pledge (also known as “the Pledge”) is a first-of-its-kind philanthropic initiative that enco...

Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem is an acclaimed American feminist activist, organizer, lecturer and writer. An iconic fig...

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a global network of independent nonprofits that use non-violent direct action to draw medi...

Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg (2003- ) was just 15 years old in August 2018 when she began her “School Strike for Clima...

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to building decent, aff...

Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman (c.1822-1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist who escaped from slavery a...

Helen Keller

Helen Keller (1880-1968) was a pioneering disability rights advocate, activist, humanitarian and author....

Hogar de Cristo

Based in Santiago, Chile, Hogar de Cristo (“Home of Christ”) is a nonprofit dedicated to serving margina...

Homeboy Industries

Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and social reentry program in the wo...

Horizons Foundation

Founded in San-Francisco in 1980, the Horizons Foundation identifies itself as “the world’s first commun...

Hürrem Sultan

Hürrem Sultan (c. 1504-1558) was the wife of Sultan Suleiman I (the Magnificent) and one of the most pow...

IKEA Foundation

Registered in the Netherlands, the IKEA Foundation is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the...

Irish Loan Fund

The Irish Loan Fund system was a network of privately run community lending organizations that operated ...

Isabel Allende Foundation

Founded by Chilean author, activist and philanthropist Isabel Allende (1942-), the Isabel Allende Founda...

Jamsetji Tata

Jamsetji Tata (1839-1904) was a pioneering Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist. Known as the “Father ...

Julius Rosenwald

Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932) was an American businessman who made his fortune at the helm of Sears, Roeb...

June Callwood

June Callwood (1924-2007) was a trailblazing Canadian journalist, author and activist who challenged soc...

Landsmanschaftn

Landsmanshaftn (singular: landsmanschaft) were mutual aid societies that formed among ...

Macarthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (best known as the MacArthur Foundation) is one of the...

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai — known globally as Malala — is a Pakistani activist for girls’ education and the young...

Maria Conceicao

Maria Conceicao is the Portuguese founder of the Maria Cristina Foundation (MCF), an NGO that funds educ...

Meals on Wheels

Meals on Wheels is a network of local nonprofits that deliver healthy, fresh-cooked meals to older adult...

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s and is widely regarded as the greate...

Mohammad Shareef

Mohammad Shareef (c.1938- ) affectionately known as “Shareef Chacha” within his community in Ayodhya, no...

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa (1910-1997), widely known as the Saint of the Gutters, was a Catholic nun who devoted her ...

Nelson Mandela

Born in 1918 in a small village in South Africa’s Cape Province, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was the first...

Niʻihau and the Robinsons

Niʻihau is a privately-owned island 17 miles off the coast of Kauaʻi, Hawaii. Known as the “Forbidden Is...

Oak Foundation

Founded in 1983 by British businessman Alan M. Parker, the Oak Foundation is dedicated to making the wor...

Obama Foundation

The Obama Foundation is a Chicago-based non-profit organization with a broad mission “to inspire, empowe...

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is an American icon, media mogul and philanthropist who believes in using her platform as ...

Pad Man

Pad Man is the nickname of Arunachalam Muruganantham, an Indian social entrepreneur who rose to global f...

Peter Singer

Peter Singer (1946-) is an Australian moral philosopher, bioethicist and activist. Among the most influe...

Priscilla Wakefield

Priscilla Wakefield (1751-1832) was a leading Quaker reformer, philanthropist and educator. She remains ...

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente (1934-1972) was a hall of fame baseball player, social activist and humanitarian. An al...

Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is the second-oldest major philanthropic institution in the U.S. and among th...

Rotary Club

Rotary International is a non-partisan, non-sectarian global fellowship of business, professional and co...

RUMPs for Rural Girls

RUMPS (Re-Usable Menstrual Pads) for Rural Girls is a campaign to address period poverty in Northern Uga...

Safari Doctors

Safari Doctors is a team of medical professionals who provide mobile health services to the indigenous B...

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army is a global philanthropic mission founded on evangelical Christian principles. Based ...

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is a retired professional tennis player and global icon who is widely considered to be a...

Sociedades mutualistas

Sociedades mutualistas are mutual aid associations that once held a prominent place in Mexican-...

The Hewlett Foundation

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a private foundation that was established in 1966 by William...

The Lauder Family

The significance of family philanthropy on the global stage has never been greater than it is right now....

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Thích Nhất Hạnh (1926-2022) was a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author and peace activist. A leadin...

Uma Preman

Uma Premen is an award-winning Indian social activist who has dedicated her life to improving access to ...

Ummah Charity

Ummah Charity is a French NGO dedicated to providing humanitarian relief to people living under challeng...

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a global agency dedicat...

UNICEF

UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) is a U.N. agency with a mandate to protect children’s rights, ad...

W.E.B. DuBois

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American scholar, public intellectual, author and civil rights activis...

Warren Buffet

Warren Edward Buffett (1930- ) is one of America's top businessmen and leading philanthropists. He is ch...

Wellcome Trust

The Wellcome Trust, headquartered in London, is a renowned charitable foundation dedicated to health res...

​​Will Keith Kellogg

W.K. (Will Keith) Kellogg (1860-1951) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who dedicated his ...