The reliance on private funding and initiatives to build and sustain academic institutions has been a distinctive feature of higher education in the United States dating back to colonial times. Until now, however, there has been no volume bringing together classic and contemporary scholarship on education al philanthropy and higher education for students, practitioners, and policymakers in the field. Presenting original introductory essays, research articles covering major approaches and topics, and primary documents for teaching, Philanthropy, Volunteerism, and Fundraising introduces readers to several key points: among them, but not limited to, the centrality of private giving in shaping the development and diversity of U.S. higher education; the importance of voluntary action in shaping educational policy (even in an era when government intervention has been strong), the role of donors as a external force shaping research as well as campus intellectual life and culture, and the role of philanthropy in access. Readers will acquire a firm grasp of the significance of the cultural phenomenon of philanthropy—the giving of money and time—as a salient force shaping higher education, both historically and today.