Charitable giving is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Charity can be expressed in various ways, for instance, giving alms and shelter to the poor. It can also involve tending to the ill, visiting the imprisoned, ransoming captives, and educating orphans.
Charitable giving can be carried out directly or indirectly. An example of the latter is when someone gives donations to fund cancer research. These days, majority of charitable institutions offer their help through financial means. Charitable organizations include orphanages, food banks, religious orders committed to taking care of poor people, and healthcare facilities. Majority of these institutions elicit the help of volunteers who do not necessarily have the financial means to care for the underprivileged on their own.
The United States has a long history of practicing philanthropy which many say dates back to the 16th century. Religious ideologies, especially those of Christianity, were brought to the US by Spanish colonizers. Parishes were built and these took care of the poor and ignorant, and the city governments that were established then also operated specialized facilities, which are called almshouses, to care for the dependent and the disabled.
As the population increased in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially from immigration, the people’s definition of community was redefined. The increased level of trade that occurred during this time further widened the gap between the rich and the poor. It also introduced diseases such as smallpox. These changes forced 18th century Americans to rethink the Christian message of loving one’s neighbor.
Worried that the Christian ideal of charity was slowly worn away by these changes, preacher Cotton Mather, encouraged “friendly visiting” of the poor, the creation of voluntary associations for mutual support, philanthropic giving by the wealthy to relieve the poor and to assist educational and healthcare facilities. Mather’s advocacies inspired Benjamin Franklin, who eventually founded the Junto, which many believe is the first personal system of civic philanthropy in the US.
In the 19th century, voluntary associations have become commonplace, so much so that it prompted the government of that time to try to define and regulate these charitable institutions particularly in the aspect of tax exemptions. In areas where tax laws were in favor to private initiative, charities prospered, and in areas where tax laws weren’t favorable, charities were scarce. These days, the requisites and processes involved in organizing charitable institutions differ from one state to another.
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