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| From Harper's Weekly 1903 |
Last week Paul Allen’s Family Foundation awarded $8.5 million dollars to non-profit organizations in the Northwest and half a million was directed to libraries. The Seattle Times reported that the grant’s goal was to help librarians meet the needs of patrons and promote libraries as places of lifelong learning - hey...doesn’t that remind you of what Andrew Carnegie was doing about 100 years ago? Even though it seems that we are in the midst of an unprecedented library crisis; funding slashed daily, branches closing and librarians losing their jobs, we have really just made a big circle loop back to our library roots - relying on private philanthropists (and the occasional corporate neighbor) to support the library as a community resource. Not exactly progress.
Carnegie believed that the rich had a responsibility to give away their money to ‘do good’ during their lifetime. He certainly put his money where his mouth was and spent the end of his life dolling out grants to create 2,500 libraries around the world (this was just one of the projects he spent his great fortune on). Carnegie thought that “the best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladder upon which the aspiring can rise”.
Carnegie would have been on of the first to sign “The Giving Pledge” a moral imperative established by Bill & Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet in 2010. Wealthy families and individuals who sign the pledge promise to give away the majority (at least 50%) of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime. The Giving Pledge website provide a list and the original commitment letters of the families and individuals who have accepted the challenge (Paul Allen is at the top of the alphabetical list). Warren Buffet’s letter explains that his goal is to give away 99% of his fortune before his death. He told ABC news that “the idea that you should be able to do nothing in this world for the rest of your life and [the lives of] your children and grandchildren … does not really seem to be very American. I want my money to have the greatest impact on improving the lives of the most people,”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest foundations in the world, has made major contributions to libraries across the country with the understanding that if people can get to a library, then they can get to the Internet and the world. In 2008 they gave $8.1 million to libraries in low income areas in eleven states to upgrade outdated computers and support free, public access to computers (yes, I do know where the computers are coming from but I still feel good about it). Just like Carnegie, the Gates Foundation requires that communities provide matching funds.
So, as scary as it seems, we are once again at the mercy of the affluent when it comes to providing crucial services to sustain our democracy. For the moment, the wealthy seem to have money to burn and understand the critical role that the library plays in promoting an educated citizenry - let’s just hope it stays that way.
Michael R. Bloomberg: "If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing - by far - is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children. And by giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time."
Carnegie believed that the rich had a responsibility to give away their money to ‘do good’ during their lifetime. He certainly put his money where his mouth was and spent the end of his life dolling out grants to create 2,500 libraries around the world (this was just one of the projects he spent his great fortune on). Carnegie thought that “the best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladder upon which the aspiring can rise”.
Carnegie would have been on of the first to sign “The Giving Pledge” a moral imperative established by Bill & Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet in 2010. Wealthy families and individuals who sign the pledge promise to give away the majority (at least 50%) of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime. The Giving Pledge website provide a list and the original commitment letters of the families and individuals who have accepted the challenge (Paul Allen is at the top of the alphabetical list). Warren Buffet’s letter explains that his goal is to give away 99% of his fortune before his death. He told ABC news that “the idea that you should be able to do nothing in this world for the rest of your life and [the lives of] your children and grandchildren … does not really seem to be very American. I want my money to have the greatest impact on improving the lives of the most people,”
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest foundations in the world, has made major contributions to libraries across the country with the understanding that if people can get to a library, then they can get to the Internet and the world. In 2008 they gave $8.1 million to libraries in low income areas in eleven states to upgrade outdated computers and support free, public access to computers (yes, I do know where the computers are coming from but I still feel good about it). Just like Carnegie, the Gates Foundation requires that communities provide matching funds.
So, as scary as it seems, we are once again at the mercy of the affluent when it comes to providing crucial services to sustain our democracy. For the moment, the wealthy seem to have money to burn and understand the critical role that the library plays in promoting an educated citizenry - let’s just hope it stays that way.
Michael R. Bloomberg: "If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing - by far - is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children. And by giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time."
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