FROM ZERO TO TEN

The Society for the Promotion of Artisanal and Agricultural Work among the Jews in Russia (ORT) was established in St Petersburg in 1880. In its post‐1921 form, as the World ORT Union, the organisation, with its headquarters in London, still operates in scores of countries throughout the world. This article analyses the ideological changes in ORT's craftsmen‐related programmes during the first decades of its history: from the initial careful attempts to use qualified artisan labour as one of the ways to adapt the Jewish population to the economic, social and political conditions of the Russian empire, to later Jewish nation‐building projects that incorporated elements of economic autonomy. Founded by maskilic intellectuals and entrepreneurs, from the 1900s ORT was gradually taken over by more radical activists. Some of them, including its future chairman Leon Bramson (1869–1941) and its leading economist Boris Brutskus (1874–1938), came from the Petersburg apparatus of the Jewish Colonization Association, which competed with ORT in all domains of philanthropic activities. Materials of two ORT conferences, in 1914 and 1916, help us understand the changes in the organisation's attitudes to vocational education and various forms of cooperatives and employment bureaux. Special attention is paid to ORT's role during World War I.     

Strategic philanthropy and its challenges in India: A multiple case study of grantmaking organizations

Grantmaking organizations in the United States play an increasingly important role in philanthropic giving toward international development issues. Champions of strategic philanthropy have encouraged grantmakers to set clear goals, use evidence‐based strategies, and monitor programs. This exploratory study delves into grantmaking in one of the largest emerging economies; India. Although India is a major recipient of private philanthropy, it continues to perform below average on various socio‐economic indicators. The impact of grantmaking has been unclear. We conducted in‐depth interviews with managers and leaders (n = 9) engaged in decision‐making within U.S. based grantmaking organizations, including nonprofit intermediaries and philanthropic foundations. We examine how the concept of strategic philanthropy is operationalized by participant organizations. Although the participants acknowledge the importance of starting out with a well‐defined strategy, they also face several challenges. We identify some of these challenges, outline how they are being addressed, and discuss implications.     

比较视阈中的中国区域慈善史研究——兼评王娟著《近代北京慈善事业研究》

中国慈善史研究是近十年来史学界新兴的关注点之一,区域慈善史也日渐受到研究者的重视。王娟所著《近代北京慈善事业研究》在着重考察清末民初北京地区慈善事业总体状况的同时,初步探讨了南北区域之间慈善事业发展的若干异同,为深化中国区域慈善史的研究进行了积极有益的尝试。结合评述该著,本文进一步讨论了中国区域慈善史研究的区域范围界定问题,分析了比较视阈下开展区域慈善史研究须把握的地域特征与基本线索、区域慈善与社会环境、区域慈善与国家救济、区域与区域及整体等四个方面的关系,并尝试提出了若干研究方法。     

Who's making global civil society: philanthropy and US empire in world society

Theories of US hegemony commonly ignore the role of American philanthropy in the contemporary transformations of world society and the globalization of capitalism. In this essay, I suggest that the philanthropic foundation, and with it the institution of philanthropy, is being invigorated by the expansion of its domestic role to foreign activities and to globally framed activities within the USA. I propose that US philanthropy exports American understandings of democracy and simultaneously organizes global reflexivity through citizenship education for the US populace. I offer a preliminary theoretical interpretation of the empirical patterns of international grant-making activities by US foundations, considering John W. Meyer's concept of 'instrumental culture' and some arguments made by Foucauldian 'governmentality' scholars. I emphasize the need to conceptualize the cultural-symbolic and organizational dimensions of hegemony and suggest further sociological analysis of philanthropic activities as integral to current politically and economically led transformations of societies around the globe.     

Generosity vs. Altruism: Philanthropy and Charity in the United States and United Kingdom

This paper presents a comparative analysis of giving ethos and behavior in the United States and the United Kingdom, in particular the relationship of giving to civic life. Obvious disparities between the two countries exist when overall levels of giving are considered. In the United States, individual giving as a percentage of gross national or domestic product has consistently hovered around 2% of Gross Domestic Product. By contrast, charitable giving in the United Kingdom has yet to reach 1% of GDP. The paper identifies the differences in giving ethos and behavior in the two countries in relation to the complexity of the differences between the political structures, social attitudes, and the role of charitable giving in the two countries. In particular, the paper postulates a set of models—generosity and altruism—for explaining the differences.     

发展慈善事业,破解老龄化困境

随着用于弥补养老金缺口的财政补贴逐年增大,我国未来财政不足将严重制约老龄事业的发展。受公共物品非效率性和道德风险的双重制约,仅靠政府独立负担养老金的政策已无法有效应对我国日趋严重的老龄化问题。结合慈善事业发展的特点和趋势,从"政民结合"视角探讨发展慈善事业对于解决我国老龄财政困境的可行性和必要性,并提出相应的对策建议。     

宋代官办慈善事业述论

在儒家"仁政"、佛教功德与福田思想、稳定社会的现实政治需要的综合作用下,宋代官办慈善机构设置健全并制度化,设有福田院、居养院、安济坊、养济院、慈幼局、漏泽园等,其救助范围广泛,涉及人的生养病死。尽管带有较多的"恩赐"性质,但宋代官办慈善机构的制度化,在中国慈善事业史上仍具有划时代的意义。     

试论慈善理念的培育

人们对慈善事业的认可,是慈善事业发展的前提条件。培育国人的慈善理念,使国人从内心深处接受慈善理念,继承中华民族的仁爱思想和乐施好善的传统。慈善理念的确立需要完善慈善事业的立法,加强慈善事业的研究和宣传,重视家庭教育中的慈善理念培养,使慈善变为一种自觉行为,立法允许私人慈善基金会的成立,同时严格加强慈善机构自我治理和强化外部监督机制,对捐助者给予税收激励。     

Problematizing philanthropy: how a historical study of the General Education Board in the US west puts the “social” in race and region as social constructs

Abstract

This article explores how an examination of the philanthropic funding from the General Education Board (GEB) provided to the public schools in the western region of the US, particularly that impacting schools serving the historically marginalized cultures of the Latina/o, indigenous, and African American peoples, demonstrates just how fluid are the constructs of race and regionality. The article explores whether philanthropic funding followed the same racist and pecuniary patterns in the west/southwest as in the southeast and how actively researching that question reinforced the intersectionalities of race and region in defining the west as a social construct not conforming to geographic boundaries. Examining GEB funding should impact current thought regarding blindly accepting philanthropic influence in the public schools of the US.     

晚清时期中国近代慈善事业的兴起

晚清义赈的兴起源于从1876年开始持续四年之久的“丁戊奇荒”,在这次灾荒救助中逐渐形成了一套颇具规模的灾荒救助组织体系和比较科学的灾荒救助运作模式,对于推动中国慈善事业向近代化转变起了非常重要的作用。在戊戌维新运动的影响下,中国传统慈善机构出现了新的转机,进而产生了近代意义上的社会慈善事业,主要表现在具有近代色彩的慈善理念的酝酿萌生和具有公益性质的慈善事业的初步扩展。但维新时期的慈善公益事业犹如昙花一现,没能获得持续的发展,直到清末地方自治运动蓬勃兴起后,曾受顿挫的慈善事业才得以复苏,从而为旧式善堂、善会向近代新型慈善团体的转换提供了重要契机。