Abstract
Thirty years after the changes of 1989, the world of philanthropic and charitable giving in Czechia is - yet again - colorful and multiform. On the recipient side we can find a professional NGO for nearly any cause or topic and on the donor side we can encounter the wide array of philanthropic giving - from small anonymous gifts and regular monthly donations to generous major gifts, setting up private foundations and leaving charitable bequests.
Thus, from time to time, most of us are faced with a decision whether or not we become donors who would support a particular organization or project. It is good to see and to understand that the tradition of charitable giving in the context of European civilization grows from a complex, multilayer cultural backgrounds that still feed its varied forms and motives - from the tribal exchange of gifts and the cultural traditions of ancient Greece and Rome, through the Christian and Jewish cultural and religious traditions to the institutionalized philanthropic tradition of the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution.
Let us hope that more profound understanding of these background for philanthropy will help us make better decision regarding our charitable giving.