
Manchester is a city built in part on the vast wealth of Victorian industrialists.
Amassing fortunes from the likes of cotton, engineering and law, they poured shares of their spoils into founding universities, hospitals, libraries and art galleries.
Back then, much philanthropic giving came as a result of what historians have called “enlightened self-interest” – where the rich would put money into good causes so that social problems did not grow and do greater harm to society.
But what is motivating Manchester’s modern-day millionaires and billionaires to hand over chunks of their wealth to good causes?

Businessman Rory Brooks recently donated £2m to the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester.
A graduate of UMIST (the former University of Manchester Institute for Science and Technology), he says he believes “philanthropy is a journey, and it’s about what you find important in life”.
The university is “pivotal in making me the person I am today”, he said, adding that he supports its exploration of “a whole range of social missions”.
His gift will be spent three ways: on helping the university “form partnerships in the global south”, “figuring out which ideas might have impact on the ground”, and “showing how existing projects are transforming people’s lives”.
Like many universities, Manchester has relied on the benevolence and patronage of the wealthy throughout its existence. It was founded on a £100,000 donation – equivalent to about £15m in today’s money – from the cotton merchant John Owen.
Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, the university’s vice-chancellor, says it “owes its very existence to philanthropy”.
“As we step into our third century, philanthropic gifts play a critical part in delivering our goal of creating a healthier, fairer and more sustainable future,” she says.

As well as universities and hospitals, The Aviva Studios, Chetham’s School of Music, youth centres, charities, sports teams and schools have all benefitted from the wealth of some of the region’s richest people.
As in the Victorian era, the social problems of their times become the focus of philanthropy.
James Whittaker is a son of Peel Group founder and president John Whittaker, whose companies own swathes of land and significant amounts of property around the UK, particularly in the north-west England.
While The Peel Group has given £1.3m to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, the Peel Foundation is now behind the building of 40 modular homes for homeless people in disused railway arches in the city.
Mr Whittaker says businesses have offered their services free of charge with the Embassy Homeless Village planned for Castlefield.
“Planners, architects, engineers, utility providers and lawyers have all helped,” he says.
“We want to help up to 80 homeless people a year.
“We can help support them to get back into society. Work is expected to start in the next few months and I want it completed before September of next year – in time for the winter.”

The lawyer and mill owner’s son Richard Copley Christie helped to set up the cancer hospital that bears his name.
Although, unlike in the Victorian age, we have the National Health Service, hospitals still rely on charitable donations, big and small.
Roger Spencer, chief executive of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, says “philanthropists play a crucial role in keeping The Christie at the forefront of cancer care”.
He adds: “Such committed supporters are helping to pave the way for the best cancer outcomes for our patients.”
Salford billionaire bookmaker Fred Done, the founder and well-known face of Betfred, is a donor to The Christie’s campaign to fund a new Advanced Scanning and Imaging Centre.
And he has a direct, personal experience of the hospital and the work it does.
“My wife died at the Christie from a brain tumour,” he says. “It’s a fabulous hospital but the radiology department needs investment.
“We’re now putting a fund together there, to which I am contributing.
“At some stage in your life, you have to give something back.”