Global Perspectives on Philanthropy and Public Good Book Series
Lead Editors Professor Tobias Jung, Dr Shona Russell and Dr Alina Baluch, Centre for the Study of Philanthropy & Public Good, University of St Andrews, Scotland
Published by the University of Bristol’s Policy Press, the Centre’s Global Perspectives on Philanthropy and Public Good book series brings together contemporary research, thinking and knowledge on philanthropy and its relationship to public good. Taking an international and interdisciplinary focus, the Series emphasises engaged scholarship and thinking.
Please click here to access the Series’ Rationale and Guidance document.
The Full Proposal Form in MS Word format is available here.
If you are interested in contributing to the Series or would like to propose a volume, please contact the editors by emailing [email protected]
Published Titles
Philanthropic Response to Disasters: Fundraising, Grant Making and Regulatory Challenges
Alexandra Williamson, Diana Leat, Susan D Phillips (eds.)
Abstract: Disasters, of whatever cause and wherever they occur in the world, attract generosity from the public, corporations and philanthropic foundations to alleviate the effects in the short term and help build more resilient communities over the longer term. But, managing the inflow of money, goods and time and then distributing those efficiently and effectively is not straightforward as the countless media criticisms after every disaster illustrate. This book explains why making best use of the philanthropic response to disasters is so difficult and considerations in doing it better. Drawing on international examples, as well as advancing new conceptual approaches, it critically assesses the commonalities and themes in efficient and effective disaster philanthropy, with a focus on priorities for the future.
Forthcoming Titles
American Philanthropy in Global Perspective
Thomas Adam
Abstract: This book will locate the evolution of American philanthropy within the global history of philanthropy. It will tell the story of how major institutions of philanthropy such as associations, endowments, foundations, and limited dividend companies were introduced from abroad into American society to support educational, medical, social, and cultural purposes. Americans were not the first to form associations to solve social problems. Long before American associations emerged, British and Germans had engaged in association building. In fact, it was German and British associations and foundations that provided blueprints for American philanthropic ventures. This book provides a narrative that integrates the history of American philanthropy into this global context and links developments in other regions of the world to the United States. This approach allows us to connect developments within American society that came to determine essential characteristics of American life to historical developments in Europe, North Africa, and Asia and, thereby, overcome exceptionalist interpretations of American history.
This book will provide the first comprehensive account of American philanthropy from the country’s founding to the present day and explore the deeper origins of American philanthropy and the transfer of institutionalized forms of philanthropy from abroad to the United States. Stories about American philanthropy have consistently ignored that American philanthropy was in fact a branch on the global tree of philanthropy that had grown over millennia in other parts of the world nurtured by different societies, cultures, and religions before it extended branches into American society. When the English colonies in North America took shape, philanthropy had already existed for millennia. And all major institutionalized forms of philanthropy had already been developed.
This book will also contribute to a reassessment of the place of philanthropy in American society and history. American society has for most of its history been inhospitable to philanthropy. In the nineteenth century state laws sought to limit philanthropy by imposing limits upon private funds that could be transferred to philanthropic institutions. In the twentieth century, congressional investigations put philanthropy and big donors in trial suggesting that philanthropy posed a danger to democracy. And twenty-first century tax reforms and policies regularly target well-endowed universities. The space given to philanthropy in American society has always been hotly contested.
Discussing both the global connections of American philanthropy and the political attacks on philanthropy contribute to overcome portrayals of American philanthropy that treated American philanthropy in isolation and gave it the status of an American icon.