1998 32c Giving & Sharing

U.S. #3243
32¢ Giving and Sharing
Issue Date: October 7, 1998
City: Atlanta, GA
Quantity: 50,000,000
Printed By: Avery Dennison
Printing Method: Photogravure
Perforations: 11.1
Color: Multicolored

Issued on October 7, 1998, in Atlanta, Georgia, this 32-cent stamp honors the American tradition of philanthropy — the spirit of giving that has shaped American civic life since the country's founding. The stamp's clean, understated design features a flowering vine in soft outline against a sage green background, with a single orange bee in the upper right corner — a quiet symbol of industry, community, and the natural cycle of giving and receiving. 

Philanthropy has roots in American life going back to Benjamin Franklin, who organized some of the first civic institutions in the country — a library, a fire company, a hospital — through voluntary association and community giving. By the time this stamp was issued, the United States had developed the most robust philanthropic sector of any nation in the world, with hundreds of thousands of nonprofit organizations, foundations, and charitable giving programs touching virtually every area of American life. The first day ceremony program noted that the stamp "reiterates the value and importance our society attaches to the noble and distinctive American tradition of caring enough to act in behalf of others."

Atlanta was a fitting first day city — home to some of the country's most prominent philanthropic institutions and the headquarters of organizations that have shaped global humanitarian efforts.