Washington — Philanthropy in America is a huge and growing sector that -- given the wealth built up in recent years -- seems poised to grow much faster, significantly changing the face of America.
The world's wealthiest man, Microsoft's Bill Gates, recently transferred assets to bring his foundation to $17.1 billion. Soon to be named the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, focusing on global health and learning, it is now America's largest.
With $77 billion, Gates still has plenty of money left. So do a lot of other Americans. A 1997 AP article pegged $10 trillion -- one and a half times the country's economic output -- as the estimated wealth of Americans 60 and older. The bad news is that, though Americans are the most philanthropic people in the world, eight of 10 of the wealthiest leave nothing to charity when they die, according to the IRS.
That may be changing. A February 1999 Forbes magazine article called "The Disinheritors" described a trend toward giving away fortunes rather than keeping them in the family. The article quoted "centimillionaire investment banker" Herbert Allen: "I think we are within 20 years of taking America's charitable institutions to a level so far above the rest of the world's institutions that the rest of the world would not be able to compete in art, music, education."
What the rich give to whom has a huge impact. The story is told of John D. Rockefeller bringing medical experts together and asking, "If money is no object, is there one disease we can eliminate from the earth?" "Hookworm," answered one, naming a plague afflicting primarily poor Southern blacks. Rockefeller acted, and hookworm is little known today.
Or consider Andrew Carnegie, the Pittsburgh steel magnate who -- in giving away $3.5 billion (in today's money) to build libraries -- shaped communities throughout America.
The American Institute of Philanthropy, studying how contributions are used, reported that 67 percent of donors don't even ask how their money will be spent by the charity they give to. AIP President Daniel Borochoff told the Los Angeles Times that the charities that have the "most active fund-raisers are getting the most money, not necessarily the organizations doing the best work."
It is unsettling to think that such a powerful force is so haphazardly approached. After all, the third sector -- existing in the shadows alongside the much better-understood arenas of government and business -- is huge. The Foundation Directory lists 35,000 grant-making foundations, including 7,960 with assets of $2 million or more in 1997. Yet we know little indeed about this slice of the economy controlling property, cash and investments estimated at well over $1 trillion.
A feeling that a better understanding of their work is essential caused the Council on Foundations to base its last conference on the theme of "Communicating Philanthropy." President Dorothy Ridings told the council: "We must do better, we must become masters, at communicating what were all about. ... We are still not well understood on Capitol Hill, in the media, even by some of our friends, and it will take real and sustained commitment to counter that."
For the layperson wanting a better sense of the world of philanthropy, a good source is Philanthropy News Network Online at www.pj.org. A recent look found the Annie E. Casey Foundation launching a $500 million national community-building program -- in response to the failure of "single-issue approaches to resolving urban poverty." Or check out the $50 million initiative by the Pew Charitable Trusts aimed over the next five years at "Optimizing America's Cultural Resources." Or look at the approach of a company like Whirlpool, with its $5 million plan to equip kitchens of new houses built by Habitat for Humanity with refrigerators and ranges.
But, for all the impact of big national programs, most philanthropy is local. And most goes to schools, churches and local health and arts organizations.
The online magazine Slate takes a quarterly look at the 60 largest American personal charitable contributions. The current version's introduction notes: "If any pattern beyond the usual arts-center-and-cancer-ward-building donations can be discerned, it's the gifts flowing to business and finance schools."
These institutions, however worthy, are not necessarily America's neediest aid recipients. Much of philanthropy is personal, and appropriately so. Even so, philanthropy optimally is based on a broad understanding of the nature and depth of society's problems, and a sound appreciation for the potential of various solutions.
More press coverage and greater interest from the public could help ensure that our remarkable wealth goes to meet our greatest needs.
-- Geneva Overholser is a columnist for Washington Post Writers Group.
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