Reviews

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George McCully’s Philanthropy Reconsidered was for me one of the most delightful reading experiences in quite a long time. George offers a unique combination of humanist scholarship as a European historian and the realism of a seasoned practitioner who founded and guided the Massachusetts Catalogue for Philanthropy for the past dozen years. The book reflects this dual perspective and is a unique and useful combination of scholarship and practical insight. Grounding philanthropy not only in the usual historical and religious reference points, he brings in recent research on the Greek mythology of Prometheus in a most fascinating and convincing way. His treatment of the American revolution in philanthropic terms as a gift to the world is simply stunning in its originality. Reading the future is always risky, but his account of the rebirth/renaissance of a 21st century paradigm of philanthropy offered in Philanthropy Reconsidered has the ring of plausibility and will offer the reader a generous gift of wisdom, insight and practical guidance. This is truly, as it is billed, “a reconsideration and strategic overview” in the grand tradition of philanthropy seen as something more than the tactical skills of fundraising.

-- Roger Lohmann, Prof. Univ. W. VA,
Editor, Journal for Non-Profit Management & Leadership

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“Armed with a formidable historical perspective, McCully distills the new paradigm of philanthropy (which he says is still emerging) with a clarity and completeness that will enlighten and energize readers.” More...

-- Peter Lowy, Editor, massnonprofit.org.

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“An extremely thought-provoking book for any current or aspiring philanthropist. Whether you are a scholar, a student, a donor, a board member, a politician, or an employee of a nonprofit, you will certainly come away with a much better understanding of the philanthropic sector. The history of philanthropy is extremely interesting, as are the sections where he explains how we got stuck in the "Old Paradigm" way of thinking. There are also practical implications for the future of philanthropy, for the philanthropic sector, and for our nation. This is a ‘must-read’ for anyone interested in this subject.”

-- Heather Jack (Founder, Mass Nonprofit Support Services;
former Program Officer, Crossroads Community Foundation

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This is a very thoughtful and inspiring book about the culture of philanthropy in the United States. Dr. McCully's discussion on the radical roots of philanthropy found in the American Revolution and what he convincingly describes as a paradigm shift in philanthropy today are especially important contributions. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the nature of philanthropy in the United States past and present.

-- Angela M. Eikenberry
Managing Editor, Administrative Theory & Praxis
Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration
University of Nebraska at Omaha

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“Let's face it: most nptech professionals are entirely ahistorical—we're interested in this year's model, but even more focused on next year's model. George gives us a context that begins in ancient Greek democracy and goes on to explain the founding of the United States as a philanthropic endeavor. This is actually helpful in allowing us to see philanthropy as more than a social duty to give: it's a shared project, and opportunity for human development, and a project in which "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" are at stake.

George gets it about how the industrial model of philanthropy grew and expanded in the 19th and 20th centuries, and how the jig is up for that model in the information age. It's not just a matter of an economic shift, but a shift in social relations and philanthropic thinking. With the internet making distributed philanthropy not merely possible but powerfully effective, the idea of setting up a massive foundation with a palatial central office seems a little quaint, when geographically dispersed individuals and groups can form ad hoc networks to perform the same tasks. Those foundations frequently do excellent work, and their endowments ensure that they won't have to change their ways if they'd rather not, but they'll be increasingly irrelevant, as the highly networked adhocracy grows and we come to recognize that individuals and families do far more as donors than the highly visible foundations. You needn't take my word for that; George has done the research and can explain this much more eloquently than I ever could.

George explains how our rhetoric (and perhaps therefore our thinking) has shifted, as we've moved from the industrial age to the information age in philanthropy. It's no longer about grand patrons giving away their bounty to the deserving poor - it's about all of us wanting to make a difference, working together, and investing in the change we want to see in the world.

We tend to make use of terms such as "nonprofit" to describe our organizations, thus allowing the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to define not only our sector, but to define the taxonomy by which we understand our missions. In his book, George proposes an alternate taxonomy that he developed in the context of his work with the Catalogue For Philanthropy. He points out the need for terminology based on postive rather than negative definitions (e.g., "nonprofit" or "nongovernmental"), and a taxonomy that orients us to philanthropy as an integral part of our human mission.

This is a book that has enriched my thinking and my effectiveness as a professional.

-- Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Cyber-Yenta
Editor, mission-basedmassachusetts.org

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