In this Field Focus: Redefining Community Philanthropy series, we dig into the words themselves — what community really means, what philanthropy was always meant to mean, and what an expanded definition could make possible for a field ready to evolve.
Over the next three months, we’ll bring together researchers, practitioners, and movement leaders from around the world who have been doing the work for years — democratizing who gets to be called a philanthropist, honoring the full spectrum of generosity, and, perhaps most importantly, recentering love as the root of this conversation.
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More Than a Neighborhood: The Many Meanings of “Community”
What do we mean when we talk about community? The word is used with great frequency, and its meaning is often assumed rather than examined. In this opening essay of this Field Focus series, Dr. Layton explores the contours of community as a concept and an empirical phenomenon — one that can be a source of support and healing, but can also divide and exclude.
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Defining “Philanthropy,” Part I: Love of Humankind
Somewhere along the way, philanthropy, a word that once meant the love of humankind, became a synonym for a very particular kind of transaction — the powerful dispensing money to the less fortunate. Too often overlooked are the everyday givers, the mutual aid networks, the neighbors who show up, the care workers, and the giving circles that sustain communities. Dr. Layton examines how the definition of “philanthropy” has narrowed over time and makes the case that the fuller meaning remains available to us — if we are willing to fight for it.
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Defining “Philanthropy,” Part II: Reclaiming What Philanthropy Was Always Meant to Be
What if we could reclaim the true definition of philanthropy by looking at how people actually give — not through the lens of foundations and endowments, but through the evidence of everyday practice? That evidence reveals a story not of decline but of reclamation: a growing body of scholarship and practice that is, quietly and sometimes not so quietly, bringing the love back to philanthropy.
Free Webinar: June 23
Drawing on recently published research, the Catalysts of Community Philanthropy webinar will introduce a shared vocabulary for understanding community philanthropy. A panel of field experts will discuss how community foundations, giving circles, mutual aid groups, giving days, and neighborhood-led funds are expanding participation, strengthening trust, and shifting power to communities. Join us!
THE FOUNDATION REVIEW
Defining Community Philanthropy
Alliance Magazine