PHILANTHROPY AND TRINITY | Donor Report
Philanthropy and Trinity
As a philanthropy professional my assessment is– ‘Much done, more to do...’
a professional’s view
John R Healy is former Chief Executive Officer of The Atlantic Philanthropies, and a member of the Trinity Foundation Advisory Board
“It’s an American idea and isn’t of relevance to us in Ireland.” That is the comment which is often heard about philanthropy. In truth, while philanthropy is not well understood in Ireland it has deep roots within our society.
Philanthropy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is “love to mankind.” A more widely-understood definition is that philanthropy is the regular giving of money to good causes, in an engaged way, and with the intention of tackling social problems.
Irish philanthropy has its roots in the long-standing tradition of the meitheal, the coming together of neighbours to help each other. The modern manifestations of the meitheal are the many voluntary organisations that seek to alleviate disadvantage, the great national movements like the G.A.A., Muintir na Tire and the ICA, and the countless individuals who provide the means for these organisations to fulfil their missions.
And Trinity, too, has long benefited from philanthropy. When the College was founded in 1592 a national appeal yielded donations of £2,047 to assist in the building of the new institution.
Fast forward four centuries. Why should alumni and friends of Trinity provide financial help to the College as it enters its fifth century? I believe there are three reasons.
First, Trinity is a jewel in Ireland’s somewhat tarnished crown. It is Ireland’s only university widely accepted to be on a par with the great universities of Europe and North America. It has world-ranking strengths in fi elds such as the humanities, immunology, and nanotechnology. Trinity continues to attract the top achievers in the Leaving Cert and equivalent. And its campus is one of the most beautiful in Europe.
Secondly, as a publicly funded university, Trinity – in common with all Irish universities – is seriously undercapitalised. And given the parlous state of the nation’s fi nances, the flow of public funds into the College is unlikely to increase in the coming years. While Trinity’s alumni must not let the Government off the hook, they can provide an alternative stream of income which will enable the College to experiment and innovate, and do the essential things for which public funds are not available.
An example of critical alumni support for Trinity is the research funding provided by the Trinity Annual Fund to support Trinity’s Ageing Consortium in 2006. This led to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). The study, which will help make Ireland a better place for older people, has won support worth more than €23m from the Irish Government, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Irish Life & Permanent plc.
(Photos of Manuscript and readers in the Library)
In the 1660s Henry Jones, Bishop of Meath presented the Library with two world-famous manuscripts, The Book of Kells and The Book of Durrow.
€1.2m was raised from Save the Treasures of the Long Room, an alumni fundraising campaign launched in 2005 to preserve the Library Collection for future generations.
2 | Trinity Today
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