National Philanthropy Day

15 November 2016

The idea of recognising philanthropy at the national level is the initiative of the Association of Fundraising Professionals of the United States. In 2012, Canada endorsed this goal by enacting an Act (LC2012, Chapter 13) on November 22, 2012. The idea is to value the work, often invisible of thousands of people, or the financial effort, mostly composed of small amounts and less often large endowments, which contribute to the improvement of living together. Under the heading “philanthropy” we find:

Philanthropy (from Greek φιλανθρωπία) means etymologically, the love of humanity. this word appeared for the first time in  the French language around the eighteenth century to designate ” Patient and disinterested virtue”(Fenelon, Dialogue des morts, 1712)

This position has given rise to a certain number of cultural practices:

“La culture philanthropique fait référence à un ensemble de comportements, d’attitudes et de moyens permettant de caractériser et d’améliorer la qualité de vie de l’ensemble de la société par l’action bénévole, l’entraide, le don financier et l’innovation sociale. Il s’agit de donner de l’argent, des biens, du temps ou de l’expertise dans l’intérêt général de la société” (http://institutmallet.org/institut/mission/).

We live out these values every day : volunteer opportunities in community centres, subsidies from Centraide, committed work of professionals in community action. Moments like these mean hope and real options for a more secure future.