“What criteria do people use to give?” asks Patricia Illingworth in her new book, “Giving Now: Accelerating Human Rights for All.”
“A lot of people,” she says, “are engaged in what we call affinity giving, where they give to organizations with which they have an affinity.”
This often means philanthropists—anyone interested in giving money to a cause that would benefit the common good, Illingworth says—give on the basis of their personal proximity to institutions, which tend to be institutions of higher education and religious groups.
But are these the right criteria for philanthropic donations?
Illingworth is a professor of philosophy and business at Northeastern University who focuses on the ethics of philanthropy. “Giving Now” argues that human rights should form the basis of philanthropic giving, and that both philanthropists and the organizations that receive their money are responsible for doing their research.
Read more at News @ Northeastern.
