Laying the foundation of generosity: Washington and Franklin

If you want to talk about the Red, White, and Blue, and exercising our individual rights, take a look back to the beginning of our country. Founding Father, leader of the Continental Army, and First President, George Washington lived by the credo “never let an indigent person ask without receiving something if you have the means,” according to an article in the Alexandria (VA) Times, July 10, 2014, by John Porter.

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The focus of Mr. Porter’s article is captured in the title of his article “Founding Fathers’ philanthropy: America’s strong giving tradition”. “Washington should be remembered for his philanthropy particularly in relation to the poor, orphans and higher education. A piece by the Philanthropic Roundtable notes how he regularly provided food to those imprisoned for debt and how he made “hundreds of donations to churches and charities, many of which were given under the condition of anonymity.” Washington’s interest and support of education led to the founding of Washington and Lee University, and his initial endowment continues to underwrite a part of each student’s tuition after 235 years.

Equally known for his generosity, Founding Father Ben Franklin supported many individuals and public entities, but is "best remembered in this arena for being the first known individual to offer a matching grant when he challenged legislators to match money raised from private contributors for the Pennsylvania Hospital and for being a trailblazer in legacy giving with bequests to the cities of Boston and Philadelphia on his death. The legacy gift to The Philadelphia Foundation is a precursor to similar gifts to present day foundations….”

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Mr. Porter concludes, “perhaps the most crucial thing these early philanthropists provided was not just the pioneering of charitable giving in our country, but the establishment of the foundation for our independence, our present form of government, our way of life and thereby the opportunity to help others in need.”