Includes bibliographical references (p. 276-277).

"This book reflects the status of local philanthropy in Egypt; peoples' motices and preferences behind philanthropic behaviors, and the ways they perceive their role as social partners in development. The study detects the size of philanthropy (material giving and volunteer effort) and its influence on charitable and developmental interventions. It highlights the challenges and potentials of local philanthropy and possibilities of directing it towards community development. Accordingly, this publication also deals with the perceptions of people towards concepts like Islamic zakat, Christian tithes ('ushur), sadaqa, waqf, social justice, and other notions that call for development verses (sic) simple charitable acts. All in all, this book has taken a pioneering step in exploring philanthropy, its size, forms, challenges, and potentials as a leading initiative to understand the core problems and strengths of local development in Egypt."--P. [4] of cover.