Where does philanthropy end and giving begin?

Is all giving philanthropy or does the definition of philanthropy imply a long-term, engaged approach to giving?

Micro-donation channels are proving a real draw for donors and starting to raise philanthropic sized sums of money; For example, the charity Pennies, which works as an electronic charity box, has received over 250,000 consumer donations since its launch four months ago

Consumers paying by card or online are able to add a donation to their purchase. Donations through participating partners Domino’s Pizza, Zizzi and Travelodge totalled more than £57,000 so far, benefiting 13 UK charities.

Online shopping application Give As You Live is also doing well, with its pilot phase exceeding expectations. Developed by for-profit social venture Everyclick, consumers download the app and as they shop online, it suggests similar products from supporting stores, which give a proportion of the commission to the buyer’s selected charity, on average 2.5p in the pound. Over 4,000 have downloaded the app since its launch in December 2010, and Everyclick estimatesthat an average person will raise about £75 a year for charity just by surfing the web and making transactions online.

In the light of the government’s Giving Green Paper which calls for donor democrotisation, there is confusion over what constitutes philanthropy today and whether it is time to redefine philanthropy for a modern age - opinions vary on whether micro-donating is included.

Cathy Pharoah of the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy (CGAP) thinks philanthropy is more to do with attitude. “I don't think that the word philanthropy should be used to make a distinction between large and small gifts, or the way in which money is given, although it is becoming popular 'techno-speak' amongst many donor advisors to do this. My view is that a philanthropist is someone who places high personal value on giving and helping others, believes that personal philanthropy is important, and has a committed lifelong approach to doing this, as opposed to someone who drops a few pence in a tin occasionally, partly because it's awkward to get out of it.”

Dr. Catherine Walker, head of sector trends, evidence, analysis and metrics at the Directory of Social Change (DSC) takes a broader definition of philanthropy. “DSC is committed to better and more responsible giving, not just more giving. However, we are not wed to any particular terminologies around giving. Neither would we want to say that spontaneous, one-off giving is less valuable than strategic, long-term planned giving – only that the latter allows charities to plan better and is therefore more responsible.

“The roots of the word philanthropy are 'love'(phil) + 'humanity' (anthropos) so that covers a lot. If you're giving out of love/concern for fellow human beings then it is ‘philanthropy’ properly called whether it’s a penny or £1bn, whether it's spontaneous or planned over a lifetime.

“We believe in using the appropriate language for the appropriate audience – if using the term ‘philanthropy/philanthropists’ is going to encourage your audience into more giving then use it; if ‘donor’ will do the trick then use that term.”

What do you think? Email Cheryl@philanthropyuk.orgwith your views.