The moral fabric of benevolence runs deep and wide in American society. People have a feeling of obligation to do what’s right that is tethered to citizenship in the U.S. Not everyone shares it, and not always, but plenty of people live by a “help others” ethos.

Brown captures this particular sense of humanity well, and affords it not only an entire book, but her own professional attention through speeches and activities in which she hopes to promote more types of giving opportunities.

“You have this long continuum where American attitudes towards giving [have] evolved dramatically,” she said. “And what I find really interesting is to look at other parts of the world, particularly the developing world in countries like India or Russia or China, where you have a large number of billionaires who are interested in philanthropy because it’s part of the modern era, and who are having to leapfrog right into the 21st century and who are having to go from a tradition that really resembles the way we, in our country, were thinking 400 years ago. And suddenly, they have to completely change their attitudes and start thinking like philanthropists today. And that’s a very interesting challenge.”

Brown’s mission now is not only to inform through her work, but to educate and build new charitable programs using her research and her particular understanding of wealth, which really comes only from having it. “Since I do not have access to the extraordinary resources my grandfather had available for his philanthropy, I need to leverage my skills by helping others give their money away more strategically and thoughtfully,” she told The Providence Journal newspaper.

Indeed, Brown is all about smart giving. “We know that the mega donors are surrounded by consultants and advisors and are taking their philanthropy quite seriously and looking for special impact,” she told Financial Advisor. “But I see very little donor activity going on at the bottom of the pyramid of philanthropy—like people who give under $100,000 a year. Because there’s no money to be made from this group by consultants and advisors, that’s who I’m focusing on. How can we educate smaller donors? Because I’m convinced that as smaller donors become smarter about their giving, they will fund capacity.”

By that she means “capacity building,” defined by the National Council of Nonprofits as “whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission into the future.

“Capacity building is not a onetime effort to improve short-term effectiveness, but a continuous improvement strategy toward the creation of a sustainable and effective organization.”

Brown says it means asking, “How are we going to educate [a generation of new wealth holders so that] they can use the latest techniques and know the best practices in what we’ve been developing?”

Nelson Aldrich concluded his book with the word “pietas,” which is loosely translated as “dutifulness.” Its broader meaning spills into an almost religious devotion to fellow human beings. Ancient Romans hailed this as their chief virtue.

Brown gives pietas an action plan.