Charity is not a contemporary phenomenon by any means, but has a rich and evolving history that extends over 2 thousands years.
One might, when one hears the word philanthropy, immediately think of a handful of famous philanthropists who are well known for giving away their fortunes to causes that they appreciate. This is something that has been the case for many thousands of years, with the very first chronicled example of institutionalised philanthropy, in addition to the source of the philanthropy meaning and word, occurring over 2 thousand years back in ancient Greece. During this duration, the word implied something more comparable to 'caring of one's fellow person', or humanism, than the limitations of wealth one might apply to the term now, but nonetheless wealthy people played an important charity role in the culture. Rich people were anticipated to give back to the community, helping to put up the money for repair work to public works like city walls or temples as well as funding celebrations and other public celebrations. Being pinchpenny was not looked upon well, and if a wealthy person was not seen to be a philanthropist, they could be ostracised from the society entirely.
Several entities have been accountable for charity work throughout the ages. Although wealthy individuals and celebrity philanthropists might be seen as the main charitable force in the modern-day world, that is not necessarily totally correct, nor has it been for much of history. In the middle ages, it was spiritual institutions like the church that would have been the primary charitable hubs, both within the town and on bigger level undertakings. That altered with the coming of commercial enterprise when rich people became more powerful, and after that moved again towards the end of the nineteenth century when foundations started to emerge that were much better set up and could commit more attention to getting things done. This is much the same way that charity is structured now, whether those foundations are developed by grassroots groups, rich people, or businesses like SJP.
The manner in which charity has been funded has actually altered a great deal throughout the course of human history, moving in between various entities which hold the most power and wealth, just as the focus of charity work has actually changed as various requirements have actually emerged. Now, there are a great many problems that have to be addressed, from widening inequality to the environment crisis, and charity will undoubtedly play an essential part in that process. Wealthy individuals with checking account that would make a middle ages kings blush have their part to play, however so do the businesses that are the central hubs of monetary generation in the twenty-first century through things like corporate philanthropy. Whether that is establishing a foundation of their own or establishing ESG commitments, companies like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are starting to do so.