What is Philanthropy?

What is PHILANTHROPY?

Many define philanthropy as voluntary giving of time, money or resources
by a group or an individual to directly affect change in society.

Philanthropy has been alive in our communities for decades.
Philanthropists have helped to shape organizations like the Arab
American Institute in Washington D.C., A.C.C.E.S.S. in
Dearborn, Michigan as well as institutions like the Arab
American Historical Foundation in Los Angeles, the Mosaic
Foundation and the first and only Arab American National
Museum in the U.S. as well as the AAHC just to name a few.

Philanthropists such as Danny Thomas and his wife, Rose Marie
Thomas founded one of the most well-known institutions in the
country and greatly respected worldwide—St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital. This is the third largest healthcare charity
in the U.S. devoted to caring for the deadly diseases found in
children. It is also one of the premier pediatric cancer research
centers in the world.

How Arab Americans define philanthropy today?

Although philanthropic practices have been practiced by Arab
Americans for some time, new research conducted by the
Collaborative for Arab American Philanthropy shows that Arab
Americans today understand philanthropy but believe that the
Arab American community has not nearly reached its potential
in learning and implementing the true benefits of philanthropic
practices. Arab American research participants defined
philanthropy as giving of oneself, for the sake of community
development and empowerment. They emphasized that
philanthropy could involve both time and monetary donations
and that it was a fundamentally personal and emotional
endeavor. They also described philanthropy as a more systematic
approach to giving than traditional charity.

In describing the particular attributes of Arab-American giving,
participants noted that philanthropy in the community is in its
infancy and still unstructured. It tends to be personal, focused on
the family and is often religious in motivation. At the same time,
Arab-American giving is broad, including both Arab American
and mainstream organizations, domestic and international
groups.

How do Arab Americans give?

Participants of the research also revealed a diverse set of giving
priorities among Arab-American donors. There was a major
emphasis on support for international organizations, whether
humanitarian or political, domestic social justice issues and
advocacy on behalf of Arab Americans, family, religious
institutions, domestic humanitarian and service groups, and
education. They had a strong interest in youth and in giving to
both Arab-American and mainstream organizations. Participants
noted the impact of September 11th in dampening giving, but
also noted how Arab-American philanthropy was trying to
respond to this sense of crisis. Research also showed
generational differences in giving patterns, with older Arab
Americans and newer immigrants focused more on giving to
their home countries.

Challenges and goals:

Some of the challenges for Arab-American giving include a lack
of awareness of Arab-American organizations to which to
donate, competition for donors, a lack of resources to support
donors, the lasting impact of September 11th and divisions
within the community.

In describing what they wanted to accomplish with their giving,
few respondents had concrete goals but most had a vision of
community empowerment. They tended to consult peers, family
and religious leaders for advice but did not otherwise turn to
others for professional counsel for their giving. Participants
described clearly what affected their decision to keep on giving—
the strength of personal relationships, board and staff
leadership, strong reporting, follow up, transparency,
accountability, and organizational reputation as key factors.

Moving Arab communities forward through philanthropy

Though sometimes not as strategic in practice, philanthropy
continues to spread through individuals, groups and
organizations nationwide to support the many needs our
communities face today. One example that strongly demonstrates
the power of the philanthropic movement in the Arab American
community is the Arab American National Museum established
just over one year ago in Dearborn, Michigan.

In Detroit’s metropolitan areas where more than 300,000
citizens of Arab descent reside—arose an enormous need to
respond to the negative images and stereotypes of Arab
Americans that were being reflected in the media around the
nation. Leaders of ACCESS and other Arab Americans came
together to decide how to combine talents, resources and time
otherwise described as philanthropy—to bring about a positive
solution. The most productive way to do this was to portray our
own achievement and successes by putting aside political and
religious differences within the local communities and coming
together in a philanthropic way that could result in institutional
change—the Arab American National Museum. Next, was to
engage community leaders and share the success of such a
communal union with Arab communities nationwide. These
actions elevated to a capital campaign for national support that
was built around a fundraising drive for the Museum. Over time
we brought reputable experts and prominent leaders to the table
whom we continue to engage and seek their counsel.

Implementing philanthropy and empowering communities

The success of this capital campaign and the establishment of the
Arab American National Museum brought a new level of national
visibility to our community, similar to that which is experienced
by the Japanese, African American and Jewish communities.
This campaign also showcased all of the valuable resources we
hold as a community—not just financially, but in the caliber of
leadership and capacity.

Working collaboratively to explore these resources and
opportunities in a strategic way can advance our communities
far beyond a local scope. This same line of thinking moved
ACCESS to initiate the Collaborative for Arab American
Philanthropy to strengthen Arab-American communities by
strategically increasing the resources devoted to community
institutions in a philanthropic way. Other initiatives have taken
shape such as the National Network for Arab American
Communities (NNACC). This consists of more than a dozen Arab-
American community service organizations joining together to
form a network that can help to leverage their collective efforts
to improve lives in their communities and advocate for them on a
local and national level.

By raising our profile nationally, we can now convene at new
tables of discussion about future initiatives, institutions and
campaigns at a higher level.

While it is important to highlight national philanthropic
measures like those mentioned above, many times it is vital to
also recognize the success of grassroots groups who make
significant contributions that support the national initiatives.
Around the buzz of the Museum, many individuals felt compelled
to support the institution that so many believed in. Many
individuals came together in small groups across the nation as a
result of task forces and began to determine their role in the
national landscape. One such group—Detroit Friends of the
Museum—is highly recognized for being successful in raising
hundreds of thousands of dollars every year towards the
operational costs of the Museum. This effort, which was well
organized and respected in the community strongly demonstrates
an understanding of our role as a community to self sustain our
projects and our future.

Many other groups and organizations participate in endowment
building as a way to invest and ensure institutional
programming and operational needs, with the possibility to
expand to multiple areas. For years endowments have sustained
universities and institutions that continue to play an integral
role in society. Only in learning how philanthropy can be
strategically used to sustain our future initiatives and strengthen
our organizations will we truly empower our communities to
move forward in a more competitive and progressive way

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