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Welcome to the Philanthropy and Civil Society Blog

What does it take to do good, well?  What does it take to make good giving decisions?  Is it possible to make bad giving decisions? How can I make the most difference with the money I have to give away?  How can I make the most positive difference in the Binghamton community? 

We will ask these and other questions this semester.  No doubt, you will sometimes leave class and wish you had shared an idea that came to you during the class discussion.  Other days, something important may occur to you days after a class discussion.  This blog is the place to have conversations outside of class.  Its goal is to contribute to your learning and make it possible for you to continue your conversations after you leave class.  Use it as a a resource to contribute to your learning and your growth as a class over the course of the semester. 

I look forward to your discussions hear and to learning from them!

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How do we define good?

Up to this point in Philanthropy, we have been plagued by several difficult questions: ranging from what is the best approach to giving, to who should the finalists for the grants be, these questions have tested our morals and values, promoted discussion, and challenged us. However, I do want to pose another difficult question that I feel underlies the concepts of philanthropy and of this class: what does it mean to be good? Or in other words, what does it mean to be a good person? This is a question I always reflect on, as understanding my concept of “good” allows me to be a better philanthropist and a better person. How I define this idea of “good” can be and most likely is different from other’s definitions; but no matter how it is defined, it is important to be able to define it. I read an article published on Huffington Post entitled “Here’s What It Means to Be a Good Person, Gosh Darnit.” I found this article while I was doing some research on this idea of “goodness.” The pu...

Reaction to the American Civic Association

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Though We May Not See the Change We're Making, It's There

       "Donors don't want to fund homeless shelters; they want to end homelessness". I was recently reading an article in the Harvard Business Review on the ambition of big-buck philanthropists when this line made me think. It is known that since the colonial era, philanthropy has made strides in aiding society's major issues, and has even gone as far as to successfully eradicate them , such as the private philanthropy sector's funding for the research and creation of the polio vaccine. Feats such as this one have placed great audaciousness in the spirit of philanthropy, and believe it or not, this is causing immense frustration among top philanthropists. Givers feel that because they have the resources to make large-scale donations to organizations pledging to better the world, they are burdened with the responsibility to single-handedly erupt instant change. The quotation used above describing donors attempting to end homelessness directly describes this issue. ...