This book presents and informing picture of giving in the United States. It glances briefly at the history of philanthropy, including the growth in government services, but its emphasis is on recent changes and the special opportunities of today. It offers estimates of giving, as to amounts, sources, and benefiting agencies, believed to be more comprehensive than are elsewhere available. It includes a discussion of legal and tax aspects of philanthropy.

F. EMERSON ANDREWS has been a staff member of Russell Sage Foundation since 1928, a consultant on publications to the Twentieth Century Fund since 1940, and has served as a consultant to a number of other organizations in the welfare field. This book grew out of the requests of many donors for advice and help, which came to him as co-author of American Foundations for Social Welfare.