If
you look up the definition of philanthropy
in Webster’s Dictionary, you will find a quite serviceable, no-nonsense
American definition of the term:
…private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life
But, if you look to the Greeks for
a translation of the word, which was created around the time of Aeschylus (ca.
460 BCE ) and which got its start
in life as an adjective, not a noun (hang in there!), you would encounter a far
more poetic (and satisfying) definition:
…love of humanity in
the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing and enhancing
what it is to be
human
Note this definition does not say “what it means to be human”, rather, “what it is to be human.” In other words, the goal of philanthropy, understood through the lens of classical Greek, aims at nothing less than the transformation of the human condition such that it moves closer to a state of perfection. I like this approach because it hints at the fundamental challenge which confronts all modern-day philanthropists: how to be certain one’s philanthropy makes a difference.
This
challenge brings us back to the factoid noted earlier - that the earliest,
primitive, use of the word philanthropy
was as an adjective, not a noun. The Greeks used the term as an adjective in
order to better describe the relationship between benefactor and
beneficiary...both of whom would be fundamentally changed by the philanthropic
act. More specifically, both would benefit, not just the
beneficiary. Thus, the philanthropist would become more fully human through the
selfless act of philanthropy while the beneficiary would be shaped by the
opportunity to escape whatever current malignant condition prevented him/her
from becoming more fully human.
I
choose to dwell on this particular, rather arcane, subject as we enter the
interregnum between the end of one school year and the start of another because
it occurs to me that we tend to overlook how we at La Salle are continually
being shaped by philanthropic acts. Recently, I took the opportunity at the
School’s annual Platinum Circle dinner, in which we honor retiring Trustees,
Regents and Alumni Association Board members, to comment on three forms of
philanthropy - as practiced at La Salle - which transforms the lives of the
students entrusted to our care.
·
Philanthropy of mentoring
·
Philanthropy of serving
·
Philanthropy of giving
At La Salle - to stress the Greek understanding of the term as an adjective - these are overlapping relationships. Alumni Board members, for example, frequently volunteer to be college and career mentors for our seniors, offer service during our annual Adopt-a-Family drive and make a contribution to the School’s Annual Fund and/or one of our endowed scholarships (which enables students without the means to attend La Salle). Each of those activities – together and separately – shapes the relationship of the alumnus to La Salle and the School to the alum.
All
of which reminds me of the powerful exhortation Saint John Baptist de La Salle
gave the early Brothers about their relationship to the students entrusted to
their care: that their interactions with young people should be as an older
brother watching out for the younger one. This is why the understanding of
philanthropy as a “love of humanity” strikes such a powerful cord in me. At La Salle, we aim at nothing less than
changing the world one student at a time.
We can’t do this if we are not in relationship with our students, their
parents, our colleagues, alumni and friends who care about the same Lasallian
values.
There
is a wonderful line in the Musical Wicked in which Galinda and Elphaba
describe their relationship this way:
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.
I am confident that, at La Salle,
administrators, teachers, parents and alums strive to love humanity, to nurture
and enhance what it means to be human and, in doing so, change for the better
the lives of those entrusted to our care. Without a doubt, philanthropy at La
Salle makes an enormous difference.
Just one person’s Midsummer’s
musings…
