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1960: Charities Committee of the Wills and Trusts Section of the Canadian Bar Association established.
1972 John Hodgson and Bertha Wilson (first Editor) found The Philanthropist with the aim of addressing the need for Canadian reference sources dealing with charities and law.
1975: Bertha Wilson appointed to Ontario Court of Appeal
Mary Louise Dickson becomes Editor.
1981: The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy replaces Agora Foundation as publisher.
Lynn Bevan appointed Editor.
Associate Editor Joyce Forster appointed.
Editorial Advisory Board established and subject matter expanded to include financial and management issues as well as legal articles.
Legal Advisory Panel established.
1987: Canadian Centre for Philanthropy resigns as publisher and journal returns to Agora Foundation.
Management Committee established with John Hodgson as chair.
Accounting Advisory Panel named.
The Philanthropist Award for Proficiency in Legal and Financial Writing and Analysis launched.
1988: John Gregory appointed Editor.
1999: David Stevens appointed Editor.
2006: Don Bourgeois appointed Editor.
In the late 1960s, a small group of lawyers established themselves as a Charities Committee of the Wills and Trusts Section of the Canadian Bar Association. This committee was successful in introducing speakers, initiating discussions, and stimulating research programs directed to various aspects of philanthropy into the programs of the Section.
In succeeding years the Committee saw that there were no reference sources in Canada for charities and charities law. In 1972 it addressed this need with the founding of The Philanthropist/Le Philanthrope, a journal on Canadian tax law and philanthropy. Its first editor, Bertha Wilson, who noted its aptness in both French and English, championed the name of the journal.
In its early years The Philanthropist was an annual run entirely by volunteers, appearing when the editor was able to commit time, the editorial committee was able to obtain suitable material, and the journal's manager and his secretary were successful in nurturing subscriptions and donations. The publishing schedule was officially described as "spasmodic."
In 1980, under the chairmanship of John Hodgson, an organization for the advancement and support of charitable work, the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, was established. The Centre's first president, John Hodgson was instrumental in having the Centre assume the role of "publisher" of The Philanthropist, a task it took over from the Agora Foundation.
From 1980 to 1986 the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy provided assistance to The Philanthropist in the form of staff support and access to the Centre's conference and other papers, and by offering a subscription to the journal as one of the benefits of its Associates Program. This expanded subscriber base made it possible to increase the frequency of publication and expand the subject matter to include management and accounting issues as well as matters pertaining to the law.
Throughout this period The Philanthropist continued to be overseen by a volunteer board of representatives from the legal and accounting professions, the Centre, and academe. The volunteer editor was, as always, a member of the bar. One paid staff person was responsible for production.
In 1987, financial concerns at the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy and the need to retain editorial independence at The Philanthropist led to the Centre withdrawing as publisher. Under the leadership of John Hodgson, The Philanthropist underwent a successful reorganization and redeployment of resources. The Agora Foundation re-assumed the role of publisher, a Management Committee was established to supplement the efforts of the Editorial Board, and an Accounting Advisory Panel, comparable to the Legal Advisory Panel, was added.
That same year also saw the establishment of The Philanthropist Award for Proficiency in Legal and Financial Writing and Analysis, made possible by generous private donations. The Award is intended to encourage Canadian students to address legal and other issues affecting philanthropy in Canada. The competition produces submissions of a very high quality.
Credit for the respected status of The Philanthropist must go to its volunteer editors. The founding editor, Bertha Wilson, served until her appointment to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Her successor, Mary Louise Dickson, carried on almost single-handedly until the transfer of the journal to the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. After 1981, Lynn Bevan, energetically aided by Associate Editor Joyce Forster, saw the journal through its succeeding critical moments and developed its base of correspondents and authors. Her retirement, following production of Volume 7, No. 3, left the journal in excellent health for her successor, John Gregory, former editor of the "Bookshelf" section. John maintained the journal's high quality from 1988 until May 1999, Volume 14, No. 4.
In August 1999, David Stevens, a member of the journal's Legal Advisory Board representing McGill University since 1995, became Editor. His first issue was Volume 15, No. 1. David is a Partner, Tax and Private Client Services, with Goodman & Carr, and practices tax law, concentrating on personal planning, nonprofits and corporate finance. He is also Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Law and University of Toronto.
In 2006 Don Bourgeois assumed the editorship and remains the current editor.