February 22, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
NEW BOOKS
The World We Want: New Dimensions in Philanthropy and Social Change
by Peter Karoff with Jane Maddox
Peter Karoff, founder of the Philanthropic Initiative, draws together his own observations and his interviews with dozens of activists, nonprofit and business leaders, and grant makers to offer a discussion of philanthropy: what “the world we want” actually looks like, and how people are working toward that ideal.
Mr. Karoff’s unusual literary approach includes integrating poetry (his own and some from other poets) and philosophy into his narrative, as he describes the problems facing today’s society and the people, organizations, and movements working to eliminate them.
The book’s 13 chapters, which discuss citizenship, homelessness, education, activism, international causes, hunger, and other issues, synthesize large excerpts from interviews. People such as Steve Case, a co-founder of America Online, John Abele, a co-founder of Boston Scientific Corporation, Alan Khazei, a co-founder of City Year, and Allen Bildner of the Bildner Family Foundation, offer their ideas of what “philanthropy” really means, and describe their own experiences as philanthropists and nonprofit leaders.
James O’Connell, a “street physician” and president of Health Care for the Homeless Program, reflects on his chosen work:
“Looking at homelessness is like holding a prism up to our society with all its shortcomings refracted, not only in health and mental-health care but in housing, education, and corrections,” he says. “It is a system problem we have to fix. You get discouraged…but you stay with it because of how close you become to the people you care for. You get attached and do what you can.”
In another chapter, Pierre Omidyar, a co-founder of eBay, discusses his efforts in microfinance: “It is not going in and saying, ‘Well, you’re poor, and therefore you need our help.’ It is saying, ‘You probably already know what you need to do to make your family better off. You just need a helping hand to get you there.’ The loan gives you that helping hand.”
Each chapter concludes with a set of questions to provoke thought and discussion.
Publisher: AltaMira Press, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Md. 20706; (301) 459-3366; http://www.altamirapress.com; 280 pages; $27.95; ISBN 0-7591-1048-4.
