Oluyomi Ajao

Dr Tyrone Freeman
Capstone Course
1/15/2018
What is Philanthropic Studies? Why Study it

Philanthropic studies as an educational field is associated with the understanding of

philanthropy which can be defined by Payton and Moody as “Voluntary action for the public

good” (Payton & Moody, 2008.6). Philanthropy is a term that is generated from the Greek where

by “philos” stands for the word loving and “Anthropos” stands for the word “humankind”. The

main purpose of philanthropy is to make sure that there is an improvement of the well-being of

people by either preventing or finding solutions to the social problems that we encounter on a

day to day basis (Payton & Moody, 2008, 6). Most people confuse this field as one that is

defined as charity. The difference can be well explained as: Charity focuses on relieving the

suffering that is encountered in the society as a result of social challenges while philanthropy is

actually eradicating the social problem itself. However, Philanthropic studies is a major designed

to educate the socially conscious student in the emerging field of philanthropy and nonprofit

organizations in the local, national, and international area (IUPUI office of the Registrar ,

2015a). Philanthropic studies as an academic field strives to attain the essential tensions of

philanthropy and voluntary associations as they seek to advocate for or against social changes.

According to the definition of “Indiana University Lilly family school of

Philanthropy”, Philanthropic Studies provides a theoretical framework and practical knowledge

about volunteering and charitable giving and organizations that support and depend on the giving

of “time, talent, and treasure” in society (IUPUI office of the Registrar , 2015a). This definition

spells out the field of philanthropic Studies and embraces the elements of Payton & Moody
definition of philanthropy “Voluntary action for the public good” (Payton & Moody, 2008). This

explains the rudiments and elements of philanthropic studies; the studies combine expressive

action with instrumental action there by giving every student the opportunity to develop their

interest and passion to achieve a set goal.

Today, Philanthropic studies have come to be known as an academic field that

concentrates on philanthropy activities both locally and overseas. This study can also be

understood as an inquiry into the “why” of any voluntary action coupled with the application of

the inquiry to voluntary action. Philanthropic studies should be given some serious consideration

due to the fact that it transcends the conservative restraints of academic disciplines and gives

room to a diverse expression of proper values in its application. Most of the students who take up

the philanthropic studies do so with the intention of eventually pursuing careers in some

nonprofit organizations, management, and fund development whether as a managers or

advocates or otherwise. The traditional study teaches the students on “how” to achieve their

goals efficiently and effectively. This they did by teaching them management science,

accounting, finance, etc. However, the philanthropic studies focus on the “why”, this means that

these students will be exposed to the theoretical approach to the study of voluntary and charitable

giving, systematic psychology’s teachings of pro-social behavior and the motivations of

generosity, pragmatic analysis of the conservative history of philanthropy and the effect of

nonprofit organization contributions to the society.

In 1957, Merle Curti clearly makes a strong indication in “The History of American

Philanthropy as a Field of Research,” Curti proves the point that the history of philanthropy in

America cannot be understood without taking into account its relationship to the development of

philanthropy in western civilization (Curti 1957). I agree with Payton and Moody who said
“Philanthropy represents the social history of the moral imagination and the entire world.”

Philanthropy plays a huge impact to the development of western civilization hence connecting

government, civil society, nonprofits and the community in various activities or the other. In

studying Philanthropic Studies, we find that kindness is priceless. Since this kindness usually

comes for free under the right circumstances then it is designed to also go for free. Kindness has

the characteristics of being inviolable, weightless and an unmatched virtue of all men. If human

beings do not possess the virtue of empathy, then we are nothing short of animals. This means

that we ought to understand others position and sympathize with the situation if need be. In

practicing acts of kindness we would be assisting in the eradication of the current and future

societal issues. Helping a neighbor or a person in need is what humanity is all about.

Philanthropic studies should be taken because it connects the nonprofits sector and assess the

research analysis, and makes use of the best practices with careful examination.

Peter Dobkin Hall is a scholar that noted various approach to philanthropic studies. He

clarifies this approach and explains that “Between 1895 and 1970” academics engaged in

studying philanthropy produced dissertations from thirteen various field” (Peter Dobkin Hall,

1999, 4). The field measured the disciplines and embraces history and education; sociology and

economics. The study of philanthropy in an academic setting tends to draw the essential impact

of voluntary organizations quest to advocate for or against social changes. Philanthropic Studies

has a collaborative nature that combines different academic experience together; this

collaborative nature is of benefit to many career paths like social justice advocacy, cultural and

arts and so on. Students willing to involve in social justice advocacy - especially in civic

engagement - will needs to collaborate with others. The skill encourages collaboration and work-

flow with whom they agree to work with. My volunteer experience in Ghana with GS
Orphanage Home, the government and the local nonprofit organization was a collaborative

effort. The engagement in community outreach activities through a weekly food program

wouldn’t have been possible if not for the collaborative effort involved.

According to Richard Turner, Philanthropic Studies is considered as a “central and

centering discipline in humanities.” However, Stanford Humanities Center described humanities

as the study of how people process and document the human experience. The main idea of

Philanthropic Studies is that it summarizes the humanities and aims at developing human

experience through social justice advocacy, cultural and arts programs and so on.

Finally, Philanthropic studies are multidisciplinary studies; people from different

academic work of life can use their tools to understand how and why people give and volunteer,

and their effect in the community. The six learning outcomes of Lilly Family School of

Philanthropy has helped me to understand the role of nonprofit organizations in the society, the

ethics, norms and values in Philanthropic Studies, articulating philanthropic values, civic

identity, and strategies for increasing capacity to take action and majorly understanding the

traditions of philanthropy in the society. In the last semester of my undergraduate program, I

have developed some certain skills to help me navigate my learning processes; my ability to use

interpersonal skills to solve problem via diverse approach in understanding the role of

collaboration and team work in addressing issues. Understanding the ethics, values, norms and

motivations in philanthropy has allowed me to learn from real world experience. Through

writing and visual presentations, question and ideas and approaches through interviews and

communicates leadership strategies that are meant for diverse audience. My communications

skills has improved and this have boosted my confidence in communicating effectively among

diverse audiences.
 Philanthropic studies examine the historical, philosophical, and economic “whys” of

giving and volunteering as well as the “how to” of working and within nonprofit organization

(IUPUI office of the Registrar 2015a). Philanthropic studies have helped me to narrow my career

path across the globe.

References

IUPUI Office of the Registrar. (2015a). Bachelor of arts degree in philanthropic studies

Retrieved February 20, 2018, from http://bulletins.iu.edu/iupui/2014-

2014/schools/philanthropy/undergraduate/b.a..shtml

Payton, R. L, & Moody, M. P. (2008). Understanding philanthropy: its meaning and mission.

Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Peter Dobkin Hall. “The work of many hands: A response to Stanley N. Katz on the Origin of

Serious Study of philanthropy” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 28, no 4

(December 1999) 523

Turner, R. C. (2004). Philanthropic Studies as a central and centering discipline in the

 humanities. International Journal of the Humanities, 2 (3), 2083-2086. Retrieved March

19, 2017.

Curti M. (1957). The history of American philanthropy as a Field of research. The American

Review 62(2), 352 - 363