Public service is a way of life for Americans; giving is a part of our national character. But compassionate instincts and generous spirits aren't enough, says veteran urban activist Robert D. Lupton. In this groundbreaking guide, he reveals the disturbing truth about charity: all too much of it has become toxic, devastating to the very people it's meant to help.

In his four decades of urban ministry, Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. Our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency. We converge on inner-city neighborhoods to plant flowers and pick up trash, battering the pride of residents who have the capacity (and responsibility) to beautify their own environment. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways--trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in "turning my people into beggars."

In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity.

Proposing a powerful "Oath for Compassionate Service" and spotlighting real-life examples of people serving not just with their hearts but with proven strategies and tested tactics, Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change. Everyone who volunteers or donates to charity needs to wrestle with this book.

This is the first book-length study of the contributions of religious leaders to the War on Poverty, and it demonstrates their centrality to that effort, both in supporting OEO director Sargent Shriver through their public testimony and lobbying efforts, and in co-funding and sponsoring community action programs that realized the ideal of maximum feasible participation of the poor, one of the key tenets of the War on Poverty.

Sometimes you get tired, doing this thing we call justice. Making the case, fighting the fight, having to explain again and again why it matters. You feel burned out or disillusioned. Sometimes you just need a word from the Lord. In these daily devotions, Donna Barber offers life-giving words of renewal and hope for those engaged in the resistance to injustice. When you face adversity, you can take courage. When you grapple with discouragement, you can find hope. When your legs are tired from marching and your knees are bruised from kneeling, you can experience rest and healing. Find here bread for the resistance.

This book addresses urban ecology, green technology, problems with climate change prediction, groundwater contamination, invasive species and many others topics, and offers a guardedly optimistic interpretation of humanity's place in nature and our unique caretaker role. Drawing upon scholarly and media sources, the author presents a common-sense analysis of environmental science, debunking eco-apocalyptic thinking along the way. Compromised science masquerading as authoritative is revealed as a fundraising and policy-influencing crusade by the environmental elite, overshadowing unambiguous problems like environmental racism.

This important book is the first edited collection to provide an up to date and comprehensive overview of the third sector's role in public service delivery. Exploring areas such as social enterprise, capacity building, volunteering and social value, the authors provide a platform for academic and policy debates on the topic. Drawing on research carried out at the ESRC funded Third Sector Research Centre, the book charts the historical development of the state-third sector relationship, and reviews the major debates and controversies accompanying recent shifts in that relationship. It is a valuable resource for social science academics and postgraduate students as well as policymakers and practitioners in the public and third sectors in fields such as criminal justice, health, housing and social care.

The Development of Community Engagement from Infancy to Adulthood uses a developmental perspective to trace how individuals develop the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and moral capacity to be actively engaged in their communities. It also provides an analysis of the role of volunteerism and civic engagement in an era of social division, shrinking budgets, and shrinking services. In order to support childhood and adolescent volunteerism, we must understand how children become adults who volunteer a lot, sometimes, or not at all. This book describes the development of volunteerism from theoretical, empirical, and practical viewpoints, starting from the earliest development of empathy, through the social institutions that help shape us, to adolescence and young adulthood. It concludes with an analysis of modern ways to engage young citizens in social action. In doing so it addresses the key question - how can we encourage and support the development of the behaviors, belief systems, and ecologies that will lead to volunteerism and community involvement in our citizens? With fresh and thought-provoking arguments and insights, this book will be of interest to all academics and students working within the fields of social work, social services, volunteer management, applied social psychology, community psychology, service learning, and sociology, as well as non-profit personnel and activists.

"A well-organized, comprehensive resource that will be sought after by educators, this user-friendly book offers invaluable strategies."
Dr. Lucille Beisner, Director Gifted Programs
Richmond Community Schools

From classroom teachers to school administrators, everyone is scrambling for some extra money. Your purchasing power has eroded sharply over the last decade, and you're looking for new ways to fund school programs. Look no further.

In their new book, Ruskin and Achilles offer step-by-step instructions and proven strategies designed just for educators. This comprehensive guide contains specific and practical information that will help you negotiate the often confusing world of private sector grantwriting. It's a "how-to" book that will make it easier for you to get more money for your school.

Every aspect of grantwriting is thoroughly discussed, from questions to ask before you begin, to resources for grants available to educators. Ruskin and Achilles help you understand the private funding process so that you will be more likely to write a successful proposal.

You'll find out how to:

• Identify a funder for your project, and coordinate your goals with theirs
• Describe your school setting using catchwords that elicit positive responses
• Market your grant proposal
• Develop partnerships between your school and community businesses

If you've ever wished for more money to support innovative programs or to augment your school's budget, then Grantwriting, Fundraising, and Partnerships was written with you in mind. It has the facts and the tips you need to complete your successful grantwriting project.

Diversity and Philanthropy at African American Museums is the first scholarly book to analyze contemporary African American museums from a multifaceted perspective. While it puts a spotlight on the issues and challenges related to racial politics that black museums collectively face in the 21st century, it also shines a light on how they intersect with corporate culture, youth culture, and the broader cultural world. Turning the lens to philanthropy in the contemporary era, Banks throws light on the establishment side of African American museums and demonstrates how this contrasts with their grassroots foundations. Drawing on over 80 in-depth interviews with trustees and other supporters of African American museums across the United States, this book offers an inside look at the world of cultural philanthropy. While patrons are bound together by being among the distinct group of cultural philanthropists who support black museums, the motivations and meanings underlying their giving depart in both subtle and considerable ways depending on race and ethnicity, profession, generation, and lifestyle. Revealing not only why black museums matter in the eyes of supporters, the book also complicates the conventional view that social class drives giving to cultural nonprofits. It also paints a vivid portrait of how diversity colors cultural philanthropy, and philanthropy more broadly, in the 21st century. Diversity and Philanthropy at African American Museums will be a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners engaged with African American heritage. It will also offer important insights for academics, as well as cultural administrators, nonprofit leaders, and fundraisers who are concerned with philanthropy and diversity.

With over 65 percent of households having a pet, and Americans spending over $60 billion on them each year, it's a proven statistic that Americans love animals. Public opinions consistently show we favor compassion for all animals. Animal welfare, rights, and protection is one of the most popular issue areas to which individual donors give, and is an area in which people working with rescue and nonprofit organizations are extremely passionate. In Advocates for Animals, Lori Girshick not only provides a better understanding of the laws surrounding animal rights but looks at the nonprofit organizations and people who are making a huge difference in today's growing animal protection community. These volunteers and organizations fill the gap in what laws, policies, practices, and services do not address for animal rights/protection. Through the personal reflections of 204 individuals who volunteer or work with animals in a wide range of circumstances we learn about their paths to involvement, what they do, what they hope to achieve, and how this has impacted their lives. Many experts speak of the importance of protecting the rights of animals, and without human support, many animals face abuse, neglect, and suffering. Advocates for Animals invites you to join these efforts, enriching your own lives and living compassion in action toward animals.

Does charitable giving still matter but need to change? Philanthropy, the use of private assets for public good, has been much criticised in recent years. Do elite philanthropists wield too much power? Is big-money philanthropy unaccountable and therefore anti-democratic? And what about so-called "tainted donations" and "dark money" funding pseudo-philanthropic political projects? The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified many of these criticisms, leading some to conclude that philanthropy needs to be fundamentally reshaped if it is to play a positive role in our future. Rhodri Davies, drawing on his deep knowledge of the past and present landscape of philanthropy, explains why it's important to ask what philanthropy is for because it has for centuries played a major role in shaping our world. Considering the alternatives, including charity, justice, taxation, the state, democracy and the market, he examines the pressing questions that philanthropy must tackle if it is to be equal to the challenges of the 21st century.

In the past decade community groups have been portrayed as the solution to many social problems. Yet the role of 'below the regulatory radar' community action has received little research attention and thus is poorly understood in terms of both policy and practice. Focusing on self-organised community activity, this book offers the first collection of papers developing theoretical and empirically grounded knowledge of the informal, unregistered, yet largest, part of the voluntary sector. The collection includes work from leading academics, activists, policy makers and practitioners offering a new and coherent understanding of community action 'below the radar'. The book is part of the Third Sector Research Series which is informed by research undertaken at the Third Sector Research Centre, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and Barrow Cadbury Trust.

Across the world the Western dominated international aid system is being challenged. The rise of right-wing populism, de-globalisation, the advance of illiberal democracy and the emergence of non-Western donors onto the international stage are cutting right to the heart of the entrenched neoliberal aid paradigm. Foreign Aid in the Age of Populism explores the impact of these challenges on development aid, arguing that there is a need to bring politics back into development aid; not just the politics of economics, but power relations internally in aid organisations, in recipient nations, and between donor and recipient. In particular, the book examines how aid agencies are using Political Economy Analysis (PEA) to inform their decision making and to push aid projects through, whilst failing to engage meaningfully with wider politics. The book provides an in-depth critical analysis of the Washington Consensus model of political economy analysis, contrasting it with the emerging Beijing Consensus, and suggesting that PEA has to be recast in order to accommodate new and emerging paradigms. A range of alternative theoretical frameworks are suggested, demonstrating how PEA could be used to provide a deeper and richer understanding of development aid interventions, and their impact and effectiveness. This book is perfect for students and researchers of development, global politics and international relations, as well as also being useful for practitioners and policy makers within government, development aid organisations, and global institutions.

The troubling ethics and politics of philanthropy Is philanthropy, by its very nature, a threat to today's democracy? Though we may laud wealthy individuals who give away their money for society's benefit, Just Giving shows how such generosity not only isn't the unassailable good we think it to be but might also undermine democratic values and set back aspirations of justice. Big philanthropy is often an exercise of power, the conversion of private assets into public influence. And it is a form of power that is largely unaccountable, often perpetual, and lavishly tax-advantaged. The affluent-and their foundations-reap vast benefits even as they influence policy without accountability. And small philanthropy, or ordinary charitable giving, can be problematic as well. Charity, it turns out, does surprisingly little to provide for those in need and sometimes worsens inequality. These outcomes are shaped by the policies that define and structure philanthropy. When, how much, and to whom people give is influenced by laws governing everything from the creation of foundations and nonprofits to generous tax exemptions for donations of money and property. Rob Reich asks: What attitude and what policies should democracies have concerning individuals who give money away for public purposes? Philanthropy currently fails democracy in many ways, but Reich argues that it can be redeemed. Differentiating between individual philanthropy and private foundations, the aims of mass giving should be the decentralization of power in the production of public goods, such as the arts, education, and science. For foundations, the goal should be what Reich terms "discovery," or long-time-horizon innovations that enhance democratic experimentalism. Philanthropy, when properly structured, can play a crucial role in supporting a strong liberal democracy. Just Giving investigates the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy and considers how giving might better support democratic values and promote justice.

This substantially updated edition of the Business Week bestseller and an Economist Best Book of the year" tells the story of the secretive billionaire-turned-philanthropist, who is determined to give away his fortune before he dies.Chuck Feeney was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to a blue-collar Irish-American family during the Depression. After service in the Korean War, he made a fortune as founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. By 1988, he was hailed by Forbes Magazine as the twenty-fourth richest American alive. But secretly Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies. Only in 1997 when he sold his duty free interests, was he outed" as one of the greatest and most mysterious American philanthropists in modern times. After going underground" again, he emerged in 2005 to cooperate on a biography promoting giving while living. Now in his mid-seventies, Feeney is determined his foundation should spend down the remaining 4 billion in his lifetime.

Believing that charity inadvertently legitimates social inequality and fosters dependence, many international development organizations have increasingly sought to replace material aid with efforts to build self-reliance and local institutions. But in some cultures - like those in rural Uganda, where Having People, Having Heart takes place - people see this shift not as an effort toward empowerment but as a suspect refusal to redistribute wealth. Exploring this conflict, China Scherz balances the negative assessments of charity that have led to this shift with the viewpoints of those who actually receive aid. Through detailed studies of two different orphan support organizations in Uganda, Scherz shows how many Ugandans view material forms of Catholic charity as deeply intertwined with their own ethics of care and exchange. With a detailed examination of this overlooked relationship in hand, she reassesses the generally assumed paradox of material aid as both promising independence and preventing it. The result is a sophisticated demonstration of the powerful role that anthropological concepts of exchange, value, personhood, and religion play in the politics of international aid and development.

A trenchant analysis of how public education is being destroyed in overt and deceptive ways-and how to fight back "A powerful analysis of the predatory, profit-seeking forces that threaten our nation's public schools. . . . If you care about the future of our society, read this book." -Diane Ravitch, author of Slaying Goliath and Reign of Error In the "vigorous, well-informed" (Kirkus Reviews) A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door, the co-hosts of the popular education podcast Have You Heard expose the potent network of conservative elected officials, advocacy groups, funders, and think tanks that are pushing a radical vision to do away with public education. "Cut[ing] through the rhetorical fog surrounding a host of free-market reforms and innovations" (Mike Rose), Jack Schneider and Jennifer Berkshire lay bare the dogma of privatization and reveal how it fits into the current context of right-wing political movements. A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door "goes above and beyond the typical explanations" (SchoolPolicy.org), giving readers an up-close look at the policies-school vouchers, the war on teachers' unions, tax credit scholarships, virtual schools, and more-driving the movement's agenda. Called "well-researched, carefully argued, and alarming" by Library Journal, this smart, essential book has already incited a public reckoning on behalf of the millions of families served by the American educational system-and many more who stand to suffer from its unmaking. "Just as with good sci-fi," according to Jacobin, "the authors make a compelling case that, based on our current trajectory, a nightmare future is closer than we think."

A wave of optimism is sweeping through the international aid and development industry, championed by leaders such as Jeffrey Sachs and Jim Yong Kim, who believe that poverty eradication could be within our grasp. Yet in stark opposition come those who believe that all international development intervention is hegemonic, paternalistic, and neocolonialist and must be done away with. In this book, the author argues for a middle ground. Poverty is an entrenched, intractable problem that will never be entirely eradicated. However, if we reorientate our objectives in line with realistic goals that improve the way that poverty is confronted on a smaller scale, we can still continue the fight for meaningful change. Using rigorous scholarship illustrated with vivid storytelling and personal anecdotes from fighting against poverty in the field, The Development Trap argues that we need to make progress against poverty on the micro, rather than the macro scale. Instead of shooting for a single overarching end of poverty, our goals must be modest and reachable.

How do faith-based organizations influence the work of transnational peacebuilding, development, and human rights advocacy? How is the political role of such organizations informed by their religious ideas and practices? This book investigates this set of questions by examining how three transnational faith-based organizations-Religions for Peace, the Taize Community, and International Justice Mission-conceptualize their own religious practices, values, and identities, and how those acts and ideas inform their political goals and strategies. The book demonstrates the political importance of prayer in the work of transnational faith-based organizations, specifically in areas of conflict resolution, post-conflict integration, agenda setting, and in constituting narratives about justice and reconciliation. It also evaluates the distinctive strategies that faith-based organizations employ to navigate religious difference. A central goal of the book is to propose a new way to study "religion" in international politics, by actively questioning and reflecting on what it means for an act, idea, or community to be "religious."

In the 1880s, social reform leaders warned that the "unworthy" poor were taking charitable relief intended for the truly deserving. Armed with statistics and confused notions of evolution, these "scientific charity" reformers founded organizations intent on limiting access to relief by the most morally, biologically, and economically unfit. Brent Ruswick examines a prominent national organization for scientific social reform and poor relief in Indianapolis in order to understand how these new theories of poverty gave birth to new programs to assist the poor.

Raymond Sickinger's biography of Antoine Frederic Ozanam is more than a chronological account of Ozanam's relatively brief but extraordinary life. It is also a comprehensive study of a man who touched many lives as a teacher, writer, and principal founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Ozanam's life encompassed a particularly turbulent time in French history, and he was a witness to two major political upheavals-the overthrow of the Bourbon dynasty that brought Louis Philippe to power in 1830, and the end of Louis Philippe's "Bourgeois Monarchy" as a result of the 1848 Revolutions. This book examines Ozanam's life in a number of ways. First, it explores the various roles he played throughout his life-son, sibling, student, member of and an inspiration for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, spouse and father, scholar, and spokesperson for the common people. Second, it examines the lessons he learned in his life, including the importance of friendship, the meaning of solidarity, and the role and purpose of suffering, among many others that he shares with those who study his thought and work. It concludes with an account of Ozanam's enduring legacy. Antoine Frederic Ozanam feared that he would not have a fruitful career, but his legacy remains a powerful testimony to his greatness. This book will interest scholars wishing to know more about Ozanam and the period in which he lived, as well as a wider audience, including those who are aware of or are members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

This book is intended to inspire people to make a difference in their work. Told through the experiences of those who "do good" as a vocation, the book reflects the realities of helping others through those who are successful and flourishing in their work.
Unlike more traditional texts that concentrate exclusively on content, this work is focused on helping beginners to feel good about their commitment to service. It is thus appropriate as a text in both under-graduate and graduate courses such as Introduction to Counseling, Introduction to Human Services, Social Work I, Introduction to Education, and similar survey courses. It is equally useful to both professionals and those involved in volunteer helping efforts.

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Philanthropy has long been a distinctive feature of American culture, but its crucial role in the economic well-being of the nation--and the world--has remained largely unexplored. Why Philanthropy Matters takes an in-depth look at philanthropy as an underappreciated force in capitalism, measures its critical influence on the free-market system, and demonstrates how American philanthropy could serve as a model for the productive reinvestment of wealth in other countries. Factoring in philanthropic cycles that help balance the economy, Zoltan Acs offers a richer picture of capitalism, and a more accurate backdrop for considering policies that would promote the capitalist system for the good of all. Examining the dynamics of American-style capitalism since the eighteenth century, Acs argues that philanthropy achieves three critical outcomes. It deals with the question of what to do with wealth--keep it, tax it, or give it away. It complements government in creating public goods. And, by focusing on education, science, and medicine, philanthropy has a positive effect on economic growth and productivity. Acs describes how individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates, and Oprah Winfrey have used their wealth to establish institutions and promote knowledge, and Acs shows how philanthropy has given an edge to capitalism by promoting vital forces--like university research--necessary for technological innovation, economic equality, and economic security. Philanthropy also serves as a guide for countries with less flexible capitalist institutions, and Acs makes the case for a larger, global philanthropic culture. Providing a new perspective on the development of capitalism, Why Philanthropy Matters highlights philanthropy's critical links to the economic progress, health, and future of the United States--and beyond.

In recent years the popularity of service learning and study abroad programs that bring students to the global South has soared, thanks to this generation of college students' desire to make a positive difference in the world. This collection contains essays by undergraduates who recount their experiences in Togo working on projects that established health insurance at a local clinic, built a cyber cafe, created a microlending program for teens, and started a local writers' group. The essays show students putting their optimism to work while learning that paying attention to local knowledge can make all the difference in a project's success. Students also conducted research on global health topics by examining the complex relationships between traditional healing practices and biomedicine. Charles Piot's introduction contextualizes student-initiated development within the history of development work in West Africa since 1960, while his epilogue provides an update on the projects, compiles an inventory of best practices, and describes the type of projects that are likely to succeed. Doing Development in West Africa provides a relatable and intimate look into the range of challenges, successes, and failures that come with studying abroad in the global South. Contributors. Cheyenne Allenby, Kelly Andrejko, Connor Cotton, Allie Middleton, Caitlin Moyles, Charles Piot, Benjamin Ramsey, Maria Cecilia Romano, Stephanie Rotolo, Emma Smith, Sarah Zimmerman

What makes a soldier? What makes a business mind? What makes a philanthropist? In this rich memoir, Canadian icon of mining finance and public service Terry Salman reflects on his remarkable life, offering inspiration and mentorship for others seeking to build their own legacies. Salman traces his journey from his modest beginnings in Montreal as the son of a Turkish immigrant father and Quebec-born mother, to the traumas of the Vietnam War, to his rise up the Canadian business world, and the growing dedication to service that earned him the Order of Canada. He recounts the moments that shaped him: the brotherhood of the U.S. Marines and the lifelong duty of loyalty and community they instilled in him; the traumas he endured as a young sergeant in Vietnam; his return to Canada and the mentors who helped guide his success; and his many roles in helping others. As he climbs the corporate ladder, his deep-seated faith and commitment to social responsibility grows. He takes on leadership roles, including chairman of the Vancouver Public Library Foundation and the St. Paul's Hospital Foundation - where he helped fund a hospice for AIDS patients - and Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Singapore. Offering an inside view at the Canadian business, political, and philanthropic landscape, What We Give is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand how some are driven to succeed, and to give back