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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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My Changing Perspective on Philanthropy

Because this is one of the last blog posts for our class, I considered discussing our final donation decisions, possibly lamenting over the lack of funding for Meals on Wheels of Western Broome. However, as this class comes to an end, I think there is much more that we can take away than just our final decisions. Specifically, I want to talk about how this class has affected my view of philanthropy and how it will change the way I spend my time and money in the future. A couple of weeks ago I went to “Casino in the Woods,” an annual casino night that College in the Woods Council puts on in order to raise money for charity. I am not much of a gambler and generally don’t like the addictive nature of games designed to make you lose money. But since all of the proceeds were going to charity, I figured that the money I would ultimately lose at the event would be for a good cause. However, as the night went on, I couldn’t stop thinking about the implications of this...

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