From the ancient Greeks philanthropy has been fundamental to a healthy and productive culture, and similar is true today.
One might, when one hears the word philanthropy, instantly consider a handful of famous philanthropists who are well known for handing out their fortunes to causes that they appreciate. This is something that has held true for many thousands of years, with the very first documented example of institutionalised philanthropy, as well as the inception of the philanthropy meaning and word, happening over 2 thousand years ago in ancient Greece. Throughout this period, the word indicated something more akin to 'loving of one's fellow human', or humanism, than the constraints of wealth one might apply to the term nowadays, but nonetheless wealthy people played a crucial charity role in the culture. Wealthy people were anticipated to give back to the society, helping to set up the money for repairs to public works like city walls or temples along with financing festivals and other public events. Being stingy was not looked upon well, and if a rich individual was not seen to be a philanthropist, they could be ostracised from the community completely.
Many different entities have been accountable for charity work throughout the ages. Although rich individuals and celebrity philanthropists may be viewed as the central charitable force in the contemporary world, that is not always entirely correct, nor has it been for much of history. In the middle ages, it was spiritual organizations like the church that would have been the main charitable hubs, both within the town and on bigger level projects. That changed with the coming of commercial enterprise when rich individuals became more powerful, and after that moved once again towards the end of the nineteenth century when foundations began to emerge that were much better set up and could devote more attention to getting things done. This is much the same manner in which charity is structured now, whether those foundations are established by grassroots groups, wealthy people, or firms like SJP.
The way that charity has been funded has actually altered a lot throughout the course of human history, moving in between different entities which hold the most power and wealth, just as the focus of charity work has changed as different needs have emerged. These days, there are a great many problems that need to be attended to, from growing inequality to the environment crisis, and charity will inevitably play an important role in that process. Wealthy people with savings account that would make a middle ages kings blush have their part to play, however so do the companies that are the central hubs of financial generation in the twenty-first century through things like corporate philanthropy. Whether that is setting up a foundation of their own or establishing ESG commitments, companies like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are beginning to do so.