philanthropy

American  

[fi-lan-thruh-pee] / fɪˈlæn θrə pi /

noun

philanthropies plural

1. altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.

2. the activity of donating to such persons or purposes in this way.

   to devote one's later years to philanthropy.

3. a particular act, form, or instance of this activity.

   The art museum was their favorite philanthropy.

4. an organization devoted to helping needy persons or to other socially useful purposes.

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philanthropy British  

/ ˈfɪlənˌθrəʊp, fɪˈlænθrəpɪ /

noun

1. the practice of performing charitable or benevolent actions

2. love of mankind in general

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• philanthropist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• philanthropies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of philanthropy

First recorded in 1600–10; earlier philanthropia, from Late Latin, from Greek philanthrōpía “benevolence, humane feeling”; see phil-, anthropo-, -y ³

Explanation

If you donate money to a charity or volunteer to help people in need, you can call your good deeds philanthropy. Philanthropy is made up of two parts — Greek phil, "loving" and anthrop, "mankind." It refers to the desire to help people or the actual deeds a person does to benefit mankind. Philanthropy most often refers to the large amounts of money the wealthy donate to causes such as world hunger or organizations like museums or animal shelters. A private organization that promotes the welfare of people can also be called a philanthropy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

philanthropy philanthropies

And though business seldom matched pre-pandemic levels, Fanara kept up his community philanthropy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

But unlike pieces of art, there is a big stumbling block to relying on the philanthropy of private estates when it comes to the study of fossils.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

The nonprofit consulting firm has worked with about 50 donors to move about $15 billion to philanthropy over the past five years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

The BrainHealth Project receives support in part through private philanthropy, including funding from Sammons Enterprises Inc.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026

Tom White died in January 2011, but not before realizing his ambition to give away virtually every last dollar to philanthropy.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Philanthropic organizations have generally funded the first cycle of work, and from there it is usually a 50/50 “blended funding model” of philanthropies and governments, says Recidiviz’s Jacoby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The Oracle of Omaha reiterated his support for his successor Greg Abel, and said he would step up the pace of gifts to his three children’s philanthropies.

From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025

Their targets include billionaire George Soros, whose Open Society Foundations are among the country’s largest philanthropies, and the Ford Foundation, another of the nation’s top grantmakers.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025

Then he heard of a new, experimental program run by philanthropies and private businesses that would loan him what he needed to finish college — at zero interest and with no fees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025

The pinch of the Depression forced many research philanthropies to reduce their grants for basic science in physics and chemistry, but money still flowed abundantly for projects in biology and medicine.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• charity
• generosity