American Historys Greatest Philanthro REATNESS. It’s a surprisingly elusive con - Three basic considerations guided our selection. Gcept. At first it seems intuitive, a superlative First, we focused on personal giving—philanthropy quality so exceptional that it cannot be conducted with one’s own money—rather than insti - missed. But when you try to define greatness, when tutional giving. Second, we only considered the you try to pin down its essence, what once seemed accomplishments attained within the individual’s obvious starts to seem opaque. own lifetime. (For that reason, we did not consider If anything, it’s even living donors, whose harder to describe greatness work is not yet finished.) in philanthropy. When it The Philanthropy Hall of Fame And third, we took a comes to charitable giving, The Roundtable is proud to announce broad view of effective - what separates the good the release of the Philanthropy Hall of ness, acknowledging from the great? Which is that excellence can take Fame, featuring full biographies of more important, the size of many forms. the gift, its percentage of American history’s greatest philan - The results of our net worth, or the return on thropists. Each of the profiles pre - research are inevitably charitable dollar? Is great sented in this article are excerpted subjective. There is a dis - philanthropy necessarily cipline, but not a science, transformative? To what from the Hall of Fame. To read more to the evaluation of great extent is effectiveness a about these seminal figures in Amer - philanthropists. Never - function of the number of ican philanthropy, please visit our new theless, we believe that individuals served, or the website at GreatPhilanthropists.org. these individuals are degree of innovation worth studying, for their achieved, or the years of innate human interest as lasting influence? well as for what they can For the past year, we have grappled with the ques - teach the donors of today. tion: Who were America’s greatest philanthropists? We This list isn’t the final word on the greatest phil - studied hundreds of individuals, carefully reviewing anthropists in American history, nor does it intend to their achievements. On the basis of that research, we be. Think of it instead as a starting point for discus - are pleased to present the following selection from the sion—and, we hope, a source of inspiration. inaugural class of the Philanthropy Hall of Fame. —THE EDITORS 8 Philanthropy • Winter 2013 Introducing the Philanthropy Hall of Fame Bernice Pauahi Bishop Nettie Fowler McCormick s Nicholas Brady Andrew Mellon Andrew Carnegie J. P. Morgan pistsPeter Cooper John M. Olin Joseph Coors Raymond Orteig Bill Daniels George Peabody St. Katharine Drexel Thomas H. Perkins James B. Duke J. Howard Pew Harry Earhart Henry Phipps George Eastman Enoch Pratt Thomas Eddy John D. Rockefeller Sr. Don Fisher John D. Rockefeller Jr. Zachary Fisher Julius Rosenwald Henry Ford Margaret Olivia Sage Benjamin Franklin Ellen Browning Scripps Mary Elizabeth Garrett Daniel C. Searle J. Paul Getty William E. Simon Stephen Girard Robert H. Smith Edward Harkness James L. Smithson Milton Hershey Leland Stanford Ima Hogg Nathan Straus Herbert Hoover John M. Templeton Ewing Marion Kauffman Judah Touro W. K. Kellogg William Volker S. S. Kresge Madam C. J. Walker Eli Lilly John T. Walton Nicholas Longworth George Washington Oseola McCarty Isaiah Williamson Philanthropy • Winter 2013 9 FOUNDING FUNDERS Benjamin Franklin “It is prodigious the quantity of good that may be tution, and saw it through to its opening day. The done by one man, if he will make a business of it,” Academy of Philadelphia, later the University of Benjamin Franklin once Pennsylvania, opened its doors in January 1750. observed. From a young age, Within two years, it had 300 students. Franklin made doing good his Franklin then turned his attention to founding business. Biographer Edmund a charitable hospital. In doing so, he pioneered the Morgan once suggested he concept of the matching grant, approaching the “was behind virtually every colonial legislature and proposing that once the scheme that made [Philadel - hospital had raised £2,000 in private contribu - phia] an attractive place to tions, the colonial government contribute another live.” Indeed, Benjamin £2,000 to the effort. When it began admitting Franklin may well be consid - patients in 1756, it was the nation’s first hospital, ered the father of American a charitable enterprise that served all comers, civil society. regardless of their ability to pay. In 1731, when Franklin was In addition to the institutions he founded, 25 years old, he led the effort Franklin supported scores of others. Franklin’s to incorporate the Library name, notes one biographer, appears “at the head Company of Philadelphia, the of many a subscription list, whether for the College first such library in British of Philadelphia, to support the botanizing of John Franklin North America. Five years Bartram, or to construct a synagogue for Mikveh later, he conceived and Israel Congregation. (He was often the most gen - founded the Union Fire Company, the first volun - erous contributor as well.)” Even late in life, he was teer fire brigade in Pennsylvania, with each of the an inveterate joiner. Only a few years before his company’s 30 charter members pledging to protect death, Franklin became the president of the Soci - one another’s homes against fire. ety for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery and the Franklin also played a crucial role in the move - Relief of Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage. ment to bring higher education to Philadelphia. As a final bequest, Franklin left £1,000 to his Around 1743, he began circulating his proposal for native Boston and another £1,000 to his adopted the Academy of Philadelphia. Unlike other colonial Philadelphia. Both bequests were held in trust, to colleges, which preferred the sons of leading fam - gather interest for 200 years. In 1990, the trusts ilies, Franklin’s college would be open to all deserv - were required to sunset. Philadelphia elected to ing young men. (It also differed from other schools spend its funds on scholarships for local high school in that it lacked a denominational affiliation.) students, while Boston established a trade school: Franklin was elected president of the nascent insti - the Franklin Institute of Boston. 1750: Stephen Girard born in Bordeaux, France 1756: With support from Benjamin 1764: Franklin, America’s Thomas first hospital opens in Perkins born in Philadelphia Boston 10 Philanthropy • Winter 2013 Judah Touro Judah Touro was the nation’s first great Jewish phil - anthropist. Born in 1775 in Newport, Rhode Island, Touro was the second son of Rabbi Isaac Touro, leader of Newport’s famed synagogue. As a young man, Touro moved to New Orleans, where he made a fortune—and gave it away. In 1824, he erected a free public library. Later, he purchased a Christian church building and assumed its debts, while allow - ing the congregation to use the building rent-free in perpetuity. (When a friend suggested the property might be valuable if sold for commercial purposes, Touro responded, “I am a friend to religion and I will not pull down the church to increase my means!”) Both Thomas Perkins and Judah Touro were major Influenced by the abolitionist views of his former benefactors of the Bunker Hill Monument. Boston employer, he purchased slaves in order to manumit them. He founded a home for the poor, Thomas Eddy and during a yellow fever epidemic, he established Thomas Eddy was one of New York City’s first a hospital. After his death, it became known as financiers, a Quaker banker who led some of the Touro Infirmary, and it remains the only nonprofit, most innovative philanthropic efforts of the early faith-based community hospital in New Orleans. republic. A leader in penal reform (he helped end whipping and branding) and a benefactor of the Thomas Perkins New York Hospital, perhaps his greatest philan - Thomas Handasyd Perkins was a wealthy Boston thropic accomplishment was the Savings Bank of merchant who traded slaves in Hispaniola, exported New York. Largely forgotten today, the mutual Turkish opium to China, and smuggled Lafayette’s savings banks of the 19th century were an invalu - son out of Revolutionary France. With his wealth, able resource for the working poor. Unlike com - Perkins became one of the civic leaders of early 19th mercial banks of the era, mutual savings banks century Boston. He was an active supporter of the were open to small depositors of modest means. Mercantile Association of Young Men in Boston, the They did not pay dividends, and, rather than re- McLean Asylum for the Insane, and the Boston investing the profits in paid staff, most were run by Museum of Fine Arts. But he dedicated most of his trustees who volunteered their time. When Eddy time and funding to four causes: the Massachusetts died in 1827, about 10,000 passbook holders had General Hospital, the Bunker Hill Monument, and $1.4 million on deposit; ten years later, the num - the Boston Athenaeum. But his signature achieve - ber of investors had risen to 23,000, with $3 mil - ment is known today as the Perkins School for the lion in funds; by 1860 over 50,000 New Yorkers Blind. With his own eyesight failing, Perkins gave his had nearly $10 million on deposit. At a time when Pearl Street mansion and ample funding to the first deposits were unsecure, the SBNY offered work - American school for the disabled, the alma mater of ing Americans a safe way to save money—with rea - Anne Sullivan and, later, her student Helen Keller. sonable rates of interest. A TIMELINE OF GREAT GIVERS 1775: Judah Touro born in Rhode Island Philanthropy • Winter 2013 11 ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie may be (which increased the attractiveness of an academic the most influential philan - career).