Like all things in the modern world, philanthropy has actually altered a good deal since its birth many hundreds of years earlier.

It is very easy to feel a bit disheartened about the nature of humankind, particularly when we take a look at all the wars and awful deeds that have filled the history books and, indeed, continue in the current time. However, what typically does not make it into the history books or the news headlines is all the kindly acts that individuals have done throughout history and continue to do today, working to make the world a better place for everybody who lives in it. Undoubtedly, records of these deeds go back to the very birth of civilisation as we understand it. In fact, the philanthropy meaning that we use today to describe famous philanthropists today came from one of the world's earliest civilisations, Ancient Greece. It is likewise quite telling simply how prevalent generosity and generosity was, as it wasn't simply used to define wealthy and generous benefactors as we tend to do today, however rather someone who loved human beings and did things to better the condition of others. It was also held to be a key and main virtue, something that is probably just as accurate today, thousands of years later on.

You may hear about the terrific deeds of conquerors and kings, but it is the important things that you don't tend to find out about in the history books that are maybe more vital; neighbours helping neighbours and communities gathering to help those in need. This is the manner in which charity has been performed for countless years, long before exceptionally wealthy benefactors or the foundations that they set up arrived. Philanthropic businesses like charities and foundations were, however, an extraordinary important innovation towards the closing of the 19th century, when the more organised mode of charitable work made it possible for individuals to devote greater resources to larger problems in a more efficient method. Today, a huge variety of individuals and organisations are associated with transporting resources from places where they are concentrated to locations that they are needed, with companies like SJP developing foundations along with wealthy people.

It's very easy to be dismissive about the state of the world, but there are specific patterns that are putting the improvement of the world before things that have had a particular corrupting impact in the past. One such example is the rise in corporate philanthropy. For a very long time, charity was something that tended to be done by people, however today companies are actually making contributions to a better world a main part of their business plan. Whether it's through partnerships with charities or their own Environmental and Social Governance efforts, businesses like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are contributing to an area that does a lot more great than merely making larger profits.