Although the founders of the United States didn’t exactly represent a clean break with the past, they did bring several new aspects to the economy. One was the role of individual philanthropy, which is unique in this country. Historical perspective For much of human history, religious organizations or feudal lords handled charitable works. Most of… [Read More]
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Tag: philanthropy
Mexico: My upcoming trip, women and philanthropy, and other fun stuff
In March, I received word that I would be representing the University of Illinois at Chicago as the Fulbright-García Robles US Studies chair at the Universidad de Guadalajara for the winter semester. Along with escaping a Chicago winter, I will be teaching a course on business and American culture (FIN 435 in the UIC catalogue),… [Read More]
Band-Aid, Ethiopia, famine, and other fun stuff
In 1984, singer Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats was so outraged by the news videos of Ethiopian famine that he organized a fundraising organization, Band Aid. He convinced a group of English and Irish musicians to record a song, the proceeds of which would be spent to bring food to Ethiopia. “Feed the World”… [Read More]
The Heartbreak of the Heidelberg Project
In 2011, I took a press trip to Detroit. The city’s tourism office was anxious to show off the interesting aspects of the city, which are legion. One of the things that fascinated me was The Heidelberg Project, an open-air art installation on the city’s East Side. The artist, Tyree Guyton, started re-doing old houses… [Read More]
Paying for college: #GivingTuesday and the fundraising juggernaut
Tuesday, December 3 has been dubbed #GivingTuesday by the 92nd Street Y in New York City. They created the event last year to promote philanthropy in contrast to Black Friday and Cyber Monday and the general excess of shopping that takes place this time of year. I’m getting a ton of emails in my in-box… [Read More]