|
*Valetudinaria
[[Philanthropia]] dicitur actus quo pecunia, mercimonia, apparitiones, vel operationes donantur societatis[[cultus humanus|cultus humani]] excolendi causa, sine beneficiobenefacto directo aut pecunario donatori. Philanthropi exempli gratia
causas citant multas, sicut:
*[[Aedificia publica]]
*[[Bellae artes|Bellas artes]]
*[[Rerum naturalium conservatio]]nem
*[[Eruditio]]nem
*[[Medicina]]m
*[[Religio]]nem
*[[Scientia]]s
<!--
[[Image:Ravi Varma-Lady Giving Alms at the Temple.jpg|thumb|left|A Hindu Woman Giving Alms, painting by [[Raja Ravi Varma]]]]
Almsgiving, the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause, is described as charity or charitable giving. The poor, particularly widows and orphans, and the sick and disabled, are generally regarded as the proper objects of almsgiving. Some groups regard almsgiving as being properly directed toward other members of their group.
Donations to causes that would benefit the unfortunate indirectly, as donations to cancer research hope to benefit cancer victims, are also charity.
The name stems from the most obvious expression of the virtue of charity is giving the objects of it the means they need to survive.
Most forms of charity are concerned with providing food, water, clothing, and shelter, and tending the ill, but other actions may be performed as charity: visiting the imprisoned or the homebound, [[dowry|dowries]] for poor women, ransoming captives, educating orphans.
Although giving to those nearly connected to oneself is sometimes called charity -- as in the saying "Charity begins at home" -- normally charity denotes giving to those not related, with [[filial piety]] and like terms for supporting one's family and friends. Indeed, treating those related to the giver as if they were strangers in need of charity has led to the figure of speech "as cold as charity" -- providing for one's relatives as if they were strangers, without affection.
[[Image:Sisters of Charity.jpg|thumb|right|[[Missionaries of Charity]], a [[Roman Catholic]] order dedicated to caring for the poor]]
The recipient of charity may offer to pray for the benefactor; indeed, in medieval Europe, it was customary to feast the poor at the funeral in return for their prayers for the deceased. Institutions may commemorate benefactors by displaying their names, up to naming buildings or even the institution itself after the benefactors. If the recipient makes material return of more than a token value, the transaction is normally not called charity.
Originally almsgiving entailed the benefactor directly giving the goods to the receiver. People who could not support themselves -- or who feigned such inability -- would become [[Begging|beggars]].
Institutions evolved to carry out the labor of assisting the poor, and these institutions are called charities. These include [[orphanage]]s, food banks, [[religious order]]s dedicated to care of the poor, [[hospital]]s, organizations that visit the homebound and imprisoned, and many others. Such institutions allow those whose talents do not lend themselves to caring for the poor to enable others to do so, both by providing money for the work and supporting them while they do the work. Institutions can also attempt to more effectively sort out the actually needy from those who fraudulently claim charity. Early Christians particularly recommended the care of the unfortunate to the charge of the local bishop.
In [[Sunni Islam]] this is called [[Zakat]], and is one of the [[Five Pillars of Islam|five pillars]] upon which the Muslim religion is based. Charity is also used as a [[Given name|forename]], intended to evoke the idea that one so named is a giving person.
[[Image:LulaAndBonoVox.jpeg|thumb|200px|Irish singer [[Bono]] (left) is one of the world's more well-known philanthropic performers]]
'''Philanthropy''' is the act of [[donation|donating]] money, goods, services, time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause, with a defined objective and with no financial or material reward to the donor. In a more general sense, philanthropy may encompass any [[altruistic]] activity intended to promote good or improve human [[quality of life]]. One who practices philanthropy may be called a ''philanthropist''. Although such individuals are often rich, people may perform philanthropic acts without possessing great wealth.
Philanthropy is a major source of income for [[The Arts|fine arts and performing arts]], [[religious]], and [[humanitarian]] causes, as well as educational institutions (see [[patronage]]).
| 