“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
As our nation marks its historic 250th anniversary this year, the air is naturally filled with grand reflections on liberty, revolution, and the brilliant minds who drafted our founding documents. We rightly celebrate Benjamin Franklin the diplomat, the scientist, and the master of the printing press. Yet, as we look around our own towns and neighborhoods during this semiquincentennial milestone, we are surrounded by a different, quieter side of Franklin’s genius. Long before he was a founding father of our politics, Franklin was the undisputed architect of American civic life. It is time we elevate him to his rightful title: America’s Father of Philanthropy.
For Franklin, citizenship was never a passive state of being; it was a contact sport. In his famous Autobiography — which serves less as a vanity project and more as the ultimate “how-to” manual for civic engagement — Franklin laid out a revolutionary philosophy. He believed that individual self-improvement was meaningless unless it was hitched to the public good. In a colonial world where charity was strictly the domain of wealthy elites or religious institutions, Franklin democratized the civic arena.
He looked at a muddy street, a burning house, or a sick neighbor and didn’t wait for a king or a governor to act. Instead, he gathered his fellow working-class shopkeepers and tradesmen to pool their modest resources. Through sheer civic imagination, he engineered America’s first volunteer fire department, its first subscription library, and its first public hospital. He didn’t just invent practical gadgets like the lightning rod; he invented the modern community chest and the matching-gift donation.
The true beauty of Franklin’s philanthropic mind was that it was built to outlast the centuries. When he drew up his final will and testament, he left behind a legendary experiment in generosity that reads more like a time-traveling science fiction plot than a legal document. By leaving two modest sums of roughly $1,000 each to Boston and Philadelphia under the strict condition that they compound for a staggering 200 years, Franklin proved he was playing the ultimate long game.
This was no short-term gamble. In fact, Franklin was famously frugal and deeply averse to financial risk — a trait that set him apart from several of his more wager-happy fellow founding fathers. He preferred the guaranteed returns of hard work, thrift, and compound interest. His patience paid off spectacularly: by the time the trusts fully matured in the 1990s, they had grown to over $6.5 million, providing critical funding for trade schools and vital civic projects. He wasn’t just building a nation for 1776; he was investing in the Americans of 1990, of 2026, and beyond.
Today, that time-traveling vision lives on right here at home through our local community foundations. Just as Franklin brought everyday people together to pool resources for the common good, community foundations serve as the modern-day vehicles for that exact same localized, democratic generosity.
We have a perfect opportunity to participate in this enduring legacy at an upcoming event for the Lowndes Community Foundation. The Second Annual Casino Night will take place on July 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Trotter Convention Center. Tickets are $100 each, with proceeds directly growing the foundation’s endowment to support our vital local non-profits.
Now, given his legendary frugality, Ben might have blinked twice at the mention of a “Casino Night.” But because this investment goes directly toward building a permanent endowment for the public good—making it a sure bet for our community rather than a financial risk—he would no doubt encourage everyone to buy a ticket and participate.
This year, as we celebrate 250 years of a grand political experiment, let us also renew our commitment to the quiet, powerful blueprint left to us by America’s Father of Philanthropy. By supporting the Lowndes Community Foundation, we practice the active citizenship Franklin detailed in his life’s story, ensuring our own community thrives for generations to come.
The Lowndes Community Foundation is an affiliate of the CREATE Foundation. To learn more, purchase tickets, or get involved, contact them at 504-858-5928 or via email at [email protected].
Keith Gaskin holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership with over 30-years of experience in institutional advancement in higher and secondary education, and as a fundraising consultant. He serves as a member of the East Mississippi Community College Board of Trustees and is the former Mayor of Columbus.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 26 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
