Over our course, the class has encountered a number of diverse texts. While it took a few days to understand how a few of them directly related to philanthropy (i.e., “Bartleby the Scrivener” and The Blithedale Romance), every text has offered a different and insightful view on giving. Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery wasn’t an exception. Washington’s experience building Tuskegee emphasizes the importance of hard word that goes along with raising money. As Washington states, he is not “begging” and has never “begged” for money. In chapter XII (“Raising Money”), he highlights the struggle of transitioning through phases of an abundance of donations to receiving nothing at all. Washington goes to great lengths to prove the work he is doing is worth receiving money and states, “In meeting men, in many places, I have found that the happiest people are those who do the most for others; the most miserable are those who do the least” (111). Before this course, I never understood how non-profits operated and received enough money to sustain. So far Washington’s text helped me understand a little more, but unfortunately confirmed my incredulity: raising money is incredibly difficult. Like Jane Addams, Washington chronicles all the amazing work he’s done while remaining incredibly humble.
Although I wrestled with some texts to see the direct application of philanthropy, I found that they all offered an enlightening angle on the topic. Washington’s account is no exception.
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