What is charity? This is a human need to help neighbors, a special state of mind or the spiritual and personal growth. Everyone has his own motivation and his own answer to this question. All the “benefactors” in common – not indifferent egoists, they are people capable to act not to be witty, but for universal human need. There are diverse types of charities nowadays, as people are different and different their needs.
Corporate Philanthropy – voluntary activities of a commercial organization to help those in need or to support social projects – their own or other organizations. In this area of investment is not directly related to the core business of the company. Unlike businesses, for whom charity – additional activities not directly related to the existence of the company, for charities is the main activity. We can say that the funds professionally engaged in charity and nothing more. Source for funds in most cases serve private and corporate donations to non-refundable, but sometimes have the funds and their capital. A number of funds exist to interest on capital or securities or community foundation. Some companies for charities create their own funds.
Private charity – the most common type of charitable activity, it is to sacrifice individuals for specific purposes like money and items, medicines, in short, any resource. Funds for charity is a source of significant, if not fixed assets. If corporate philanthropists choose social problems itself by means of their (often this choice is determined by the interests and tastes of the manual), the Foundation responds to the existing society into serious problems and is seeking charity funds to address them.
Another kind of charities is philanthropy – a word of Greek origin meaning “love for people.” In dictionaries that “philanthropy” – the same as that of charity, thus, it is a full synonym. From a functional point of view this is perhaps difficult to argue: the one and the other appear as a voluntary allocation of private resources for the needy. However, one can imagine a situation in which the charity would not be a philanthropy. For example, the provision of grant aid to animals of the National Park cannot be called “love for people,” i.e., philanthropy, but you can call the charity. On the one hand, such a strategic investment aimed at public good in general (to maintain ecological balance), on the other – charity helps not people but animals. If so, then the difference between philanthropy and charity lies not in specific forms of action, and exclusively in the field of motivation. Although by and large, do not help the individuals and their groups, and investing in nature, art, science, sooner or later “reach” to society in the form of environmental improvements, new discoveries, works of art, etc. There are numerous forms of charities, but you are to remember, that all of them only one goal – to help the planet!
