Philosopher's financial backers are becoming charitable at last (6)
I believe the answer is:
engels
'philosopher's' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for engels that I've seen before include "Co-author of Karl Marx" , "He co-authored The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx" , "Pioneer of communism" , "Close collaborator of Karl Marx" , "German linked to Marx" .)