The concept of giving to others and contributing to society is common to all cultures. In the histories of some of these it is recorded, for example the Hammurabi code set out in ancient Babylon, the concept of humanity in the early writings of Confucianism, and in numerous other works such as the Quran and the Bible. However, when the concept of philanthropy, of 'being good', is examined it becomes a complex and much-debated subject. The literature finds reasons for the establishment of non-profit foundations that range from purely philanthropic to the transactional, to social control, to the gaining of social capital, to the suppression of democracy, to the maintenance of an elite ecosystem, and other motivations. However, much of this literature is based on Western developed nations, their histories, their culture, and individuals from their societies. Assumptions are frequently made about other parts of the world in terms of their cultures, histories, and experiences based on these assumptions. Assumptions and generalizations are also typically made in the limited number of studies undertaken in other settings, such as the tendency to generalize standardized Islamic philanthropy across the Middle East and North Africa region. These observations resonated with the researcher, who is a woman working in the non-profit sector in Jordan, and who is a Palestinian. She is in tune with a particular aspect of the literature which argues that the understanding of who establishes non-profit foundations will necessarily be contingent on the historic, cultural, political, economic, and situational factors existing in nations. Gaining such an understanding of a country has the potential to contribute to existing knowledge in the field.Every nation has a legitimate claim to uniqueness, and this is also true for Jordan. Described by one writer as 'the eye of the Arab cyclone' Jordan has, since 1948, been host to millions of refugees, particularly Palestinians. The extent of this can be seen by statistics showing that the population of the country grew almost exponentially between 1950 and 2012 with the largest non-native group being originally Palestinians. Based on a qualitative methodology and a hermeneutic, phenomenological and interpretive method, this study seeks to gain a deep understanding of who the people who establish non-profit foundations in Jordan are. It is based on a theoretical framework that understands the importance of studies at national levels and that the philanthropic intentions in each state or other unit of analysis will be uniquely formed through its history, culture, politics, economy, flows of migration, and other factors that may be uncovered through research. Through detailed inspection (non-profit foundations are not separately identifiable through existing databases in Jordan) the researcher identified a total of eleven non-profit foundations in Jordan and subsequently interviewed seven founders. Based on the analysis of the resulting data (transcriptions of interviews) main and sub-themes were identified and were used to address the research question, which is who are the founders of non-profit foundations in Jordan and why did they establish their foundations? The main themes include Palestine, motives, antecedents of motives, and why a foundation was established (as opposed to other forms of philanthropy). Sub-themes include wealth, gender, altruism, feelings of pride, business and marketing, childhood, deprivation, the influence of parents, cultural background, education, and Lebanon. These themes are discussed and evaluated in terms of philanthropy and philanthropic intentions in Jordan and elsewhere before conclusions are reached and recommendations are made.
| Date of Award | Jun 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University of Bedfordshire
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| Supervisor | Christina Schwabenland (Supervisor) |
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