Philanthropy. We often invoke this concept during these early weeks of the New Year, a time when we make hopeful resolutions both to improve ourselves and the world around us. The word has a special currency at the John Templeton Foundation, too, since Sir John recently won the third annual William E. Simon Philanthropic Leadership Prize.

William E. Simon, who was U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1974 through 1977, created this prize because he felt that there was a need to publicly identify notable practitioners of philanthropy. He hoped they might be role models to those in the future who cared to give of their time, talents or financial assets.

"My father firmly believed that one person can make a profound difference in the lives of others," said foundation co-chairman William E. Simon, Jr. "And, through this prize program he hoped to inspire others to create and support charities that help people help themselves."

Guiding the Simon Foundation is a charitable philosophy that was articulated by Andrew Carnegie over a century ago, when he wrote in his 1889 essay, The Gospel of Wealth, that rich individuals are the "trustees" of their wealth and should strive to administer it for the good of the public. Past winners of the Simon Prize — which provides a grant of $250,000 to the charity or charities with which the winning philanthropist is involved — include Raymond Chandler, the founder and chairman of Amelior Foundation; and John T. Walton, a director of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

In selecting Sir John, the William E. Simon Foundation recognized the global impact of his vision to unite rigorous science with humanity's spiritual and religious quests. A citation from the Simon Prize hailed Sir John as someone "whose pioneering philanthropy has changed the way we think about the vital link between God and spiritual, physical and material realities."

Since the John Templeton Foundation was founded in 1987, Sir John's vision and philanthropic leadership have become widely known at universities, research institutes and grass roots organizations around the world. Recent interviews with colleagues, benefactors and family members offer thoughtful insights and a bit of historical context for Sir John's remarkable accomplishments.

Philanthropy, or "love of humanity" in Greek, emerged very preliminarily as an idea in ancient Greece, but had no application to the neediest, or all humanity, according to Dr. Stephen G. Post, president of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, a center for the scientific study of altruism that is funded in part by the John Templeton Foundation. "Instead, it was an insular activity," Post said, "directed towards members of one's own class in one's own city state."

While Hippocrates, a Greek physician, held that "where there is love of humanity, there is love of medical science," philanthropy didn't become universal in focus until the 2nd or 3rd century a.d., when the Greco-Romans' limited notion of philanthropy was supplanted by the concept of agape, or a freely given and sacrificial love. Philanthropy was now understood as a way to directly help all mankind — often enough, by sharing the Hippocratic ideal that scientific discovery may alleviate human suffering. Such at least was how the word came to be understood by Andrew Carnegie, and other modern-day philanthropists such as John D. Rockefeller, Bill Gates, and Sir John Templeton.

A Newsweek cover story in November designated the John Templeton Foundation as the "nation's largest funder of spirituality research." The story went on to describe how after making his fortune as an entrepreneur in global mutual funds, Sir John now spends as much as $30 million a year on topics such as whether spirituality is beneficial to health, if there is "evidence of universal purpose in the universe," or a scientific basis for forgiveness.

"How Sir John invested his money is key to understanding the way he's currently using it philanthropically," says Dr. Harold G. Koenig, a physician and associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and director of that institution's Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health. "He's a savvy investor. The difference now however is that he's no longer investing to increase economic wealth for others, but he is using the same strategy of investing at the point of 'maximum pessimism' to fund research that increases spiritual information."

What's also remarkable about Sir John's method of philanthropy is his "hands off" manner when it comes to how research projects are administered, said Dr. David G. Myers, a professor of psychology at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and an expert on the psychology of giving who has authored several books, including The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in the Age of Plenty. "Having co-chaired the panel that awarded some seven million dollars in grants for forgiveness research, I can tell you that we entertained nearly 200 proposals and our academic panel was given complete freedom to decide these awards. What more could any academic ask of a private philanthropist?"

Myers further credits Sir John with a clarity of vision that enables him to weather criticism from both conservatives who find him too respectful of science for their tastes, as well as religious skeptics who think he's too parochial. "I am unaware of any significant foundation with interests that are more culturally and religiously diverse," Myers asserted.

"My father has always been somewhat of a contrarian, so he doesn't feel at all beset by his critics." explained Dr. Jack Templeton, president of the Templeton Foundation. "Instead, he always talks about how little we know, and how eager we should be to learn. He encourages people to be humble, because when you have humility, you spend more time asking questions. Maybe, you'll even ask something that no one's asked before."

"Dad truly believes that of all the models of progress, some of the most outstanding contributions that benefited the world came from science," Templeton continued. "He wants to foster the adventure of discovery."

Towards this end, Sir John recently added a matching grant to the philanthropic leadership prize money he received from the William E. Simon Foundation. He donated this $500,000 sum to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Delaware, which will soon begin administering a series of "noble purpose" awards to undergraduate students who aspire to engage directly in the life of their communities.

"'Noble purpose' is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of positive consequence to the world beyond the self," said Arthur Schwartz, a vice president at the Templeton Foundation. "Sir John thinks if people have such purpose, they are much better off."

Dr. Stephen G. Post agrees with this notion. "A philanthropic person taps a wellspring of moral creativity that is extremely healthy," he said.

Indeed, the $1.7 million of research grants into the nature of unselfish or "unlimited love" that Post oversees were recently cited in a Boston Globe front-page story as offering proof for the old adage, "it is better to give than to receive." Helping others, the Globe's Carey Goldberg explained, appears not only to benefit the recipient, but also provides the giver with an improved sense of self-worth, physical well-being and maybe even longer life.

Such certainly appears to be the case with Sir John, who is still extremely vital at age 91.

"He jumps out of bed with more energy now than earlier in his life, because of all he hopes to accomplish through his philanthropy," his son, Jack, said. "In Dad's mind, the key to longevity is not only good health, but having a sense of purpose. Even better, a sense of purpose which is focused on others."

Links of Interest
William E. Simon Foundation
Institute for Research on Unlimited Love
Duke University's Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health
Campaign for Forgiveness Research

Stephen Henderson, a writer based in New York City, contributes frequently to the New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, Town & Country, and Religion News Service, as well as other publications.

Milestones is a publication of the John Templeton Foundation.