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Main article: Philanthropy in the United States
The first corporation founded in the Thirteen Colonies was Harvard College (1636), designed primarily to train young men for the clergy. A leading
theorist was the Puritan theologian Cotton Mather (1662–1728), who in 1710 published a widely read essay, Bonifacius, or an Essay to Do Good.
Mather worried that the[specify] original idealism had eroded, so he advocated philanthropic benefaction as a way of life. Though his context was Christian,
his idea was also characteristically American and explicitly Classical[specify], on the threshold of the Enlightenment.[29]
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was an activist and theorist of American philanthropy. He was much influenced by Daniel Defoe's An Essay upon
Projects (1697) and Cotton Mather's Bonifacius: an essay upon the good (1710). Franklin attempted to motivate his fellow Philadelphians into projects
for the betterment of the city: examples included the Library Company of Philadelphia (the first American subscription library), the fire department, the
police force, street lighting, and a hospital. A world-class physicist himself, he promoted scientific organizations including the Philadelphia Academy
(1751) – which became the University of Pennsylvania – as well as the American Philosophical Society (1743), to enable scientific researchers from all
13 colonies to communicate.[30]
By the 1820s, newly rich American businessmen were initiating philanthropic work, especially with respect to private colleges and hospitals. George
Peabody (1795–1869) is the acknowledged[by whom?] father of modern philanthropy. A financier based in Baltimore and London, in the 1860s, he began to
endow libraries and museums in the United States and also funded housing for poor people in London. His activities became a model for Andrew
Carnegie and many others.[31]
Andrew Carnegie[edit]
Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy. Puck magazine cartoon by Louis

Dalrymple, 1903
Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) was the most influential leader of philanthropy on a national (rather than local) scale. After selling his steel company in
1901 he devoted himself to establishing philanthropic organizations and to making direct contributions to many educational, cultural, and research
institutions. He financed over 2,500 public libraries built across the United States and abroad. He also funded Carnegie Hall in New York City and
the Peace Palace in the Netherlands.
His final and largest project was the Carnegie Corporation of New York, founded in 1911 with a US$25 million endowment, later enlarged to US$135
million. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establish institutions that include the Russian Research Center at Harvard
University (now known as the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies), the Brookings Institution and the Sesame Workshop. In all, Andrew
Carnegie gave away 90% of his fortune.[32]
John D. Rockefeller[edit]
John D. Rockefeller in 1895
Other prominent American philanthropists of the early 20th century included John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), Julius Rosenwald (1862–1932)
[33]
and Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage (1828–1918).[34]
Rockefeller retired from business in the 1890s; he and his son John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960) made large-scale national philanthropy systematic,
especially with regard to the study and application of modern medicine, higher education, and scientific research. Of the US$530 million the elder
Rockefeller gave away, US$450 million went to medicine.[35] Their leading advisor Frederick Taylor Gates launched several large philanthropic projects
staffed by experts who sought to address problems systematically at the roots rather than let the recipients deal only with their immediate concerns.[36]
By 1920, the Rockefeller Foundation was opening offices in Europe. It launched medical and scientific projects in Britain, France, Germany, Spain, and
elsewhere. It supported the health projects of the League of Nations.[37] By the 1950s, it was investing heavily in the Green Revolution, especially the
work by Norman Borlaug that enabled India, Mexico, and many poor countries to upgrade their agricultural productivity dramatically.[38]
Ford Foundation[edit]
Main article: Ford Foundation
With the acquisition of most of the stock of the Ford Motor Company in the late 1940s, the Ford Foundation became the largest American philanthropy,
splitting its activities between the United States and the rest of the world. Outside the United States, it established a network of human rights
organizations, promoted democracy, gave large numbers of fellowships for young leaders to study in the United States, and invested heavily in
the Green Revolution, whereby poor nations dramatically increased their output of rice, wheat, and other foods. Both Ford and Rockefeller were heavily
involved.[39] Ford also gave heavily to build up research universities in Europe and worldwide. For example, in Italy in 1950, sent a team to help the
Italian ministry of education reform the nation's school system, based on meritocracy (rather than political or family patronage) and democratisation
(with universal access to secondary schools). It reached a compromise between the Christian Democrats and the Socialists to help promote uniform
treatment and equal outcomes. The success in Italy became a model for Ford programs and many other nations.[40]
The Ford Foundation in the 1950s wanted to modernize the legal systems in India and Africa, by promoting the American model. The plan failed,
because of India's unique legal history, traditions, and profession [clarification needed], as well as its economic and political conditions. Ford, therefore, turned to
agricultural reform.[41] The success rate in Africa was no better, and that program closed in 1977.[42]
Asia[edit]
Saudi Arabian philanthropist Lamia bint Majed al-Saud
While charity has a long history in Asia, as of 2018 philanthropy or a systematic approach to doing good remains nascent.[43] Chinese
philosopher Mozi (c. 470 – c. 391 BCE) developed the concept of "universal love" (jiān'ài, 兼愛), a reaction against perceived over-attachment to family
and clan structures within Confucianism. Other interpretations of Confucianism see concern for others as an extension of benevolence.[44]
Muslims in countries such as Indonesia are bound by zakat (almsgiving), while Buddhists and Christians throughout Asia may participate in
philanthropic activities. In India, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is now mandated, with 2% of net profits to be directed towards charity.[45]
Asia is home to most of the world's billionaires, surpassing the United States and Europe in

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Main article: Philanthropy in the United States

Andrew Carnegie's philanthropy. Puck magazine cartoon by Louis

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