alms

But if you give alms, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be hidden, and your father, who looks into it hidden, will reward you publicly. Matthew 6:3-4 in Martin Luther's translation

Handouts are used in a pejorative way these days: "The employers should keep their handouts." For a long time they stood for true Christianity, for sharing with the neighbor, for neighborly love in general.

Source: Encyclopedia of Beautiful Words | Roland Kaehlbrandt & Walter Kramer