 |
February-April 2007
Global Giving Round-Up
Overviews of best-practices around the world and links to learn more about them
Changemakers issues guide to social justice philanthropy for family funders
A new publication by Changemakers (www.changemakers.org) aims to help family foundations strengthen their commitment to social change philanthropy. "There are more than 30,000 family foundations in the US, moving approximately $14 billion each year," said Stephanie Yang, author of the guidebook. Yang said the publication would fill the existing gap in resources for families that wish to support community-led efforts for social justice. Released at the Council on Foundation's annual family foundations conference in February, Legacy and Innovation: A Guidebook for Families on Social Change Philanthropy provides practical tools and resources to help families start a dialogue about giving. Each chapter features interviews with family funders who describe how they have translated their values into philanthropic action. A separate chapter takes up the next generation's role in advancing the family's social change agenda. Changemakers is a national public foundation that supports community-based philanthropy for social change. For more information, contact Yang at stephanie@changemakers.org.
A closer look at diaspora giving in Asia and the Pacific.
Despite its growing significance, the development of diaspora philanthropy -- charitable giving by migrants to their communities of origin -- is not well documented. In an effort to expand the knowledge base on this rapidly growing phenomenon, the Asia Pacific Philanthropy Consortium (APPC -- www.asiapacificphilanthropy.org) has chosen diaspora philanthropy as the central theme of its upcoming biannual conference in October, 2007, in Hanoi, Vietnam. The conference -- "Diaspora Giving: Agents of Change in Asia Pacific Communities?" -- will explore the nature and scope of diaspora giving in the region, particularly in countries with substantial communities of migrant workers such as China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan. As an outgrowth of the conference, the APPC plans to produce a best practices casebook on effective giving by migrant communities. Contact Alexie Ferreria at alexie@asiapacificphilanthropy.org.
Stonesifer responds to critique of Gates foundation
Writing in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's March 8 issue, columnist Pablo Eisenberg issued a critique of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, "Gates: Role Model in Need of Remodeling," evaluating its performance since Warren Buffett announced that he would give the bulk of his fortune to the Seattle-based philanthropy. Patty Stonesifer, the foundation's chief executive, responded to Eisenberg's challenge on a range of issues in The Chronicle's March 27 edition. On the subject of the foundation's transparency, Stonesifer acknowledged that it was "more difficult than it should be" to get a get clear view of the organization's work. In view of the foundation's recent rapid growth, "communications have to grow to keep up," she said, adding that a web-site redesign was in the works. As for Eisenberg's assertion that the foundation's three-person board is too small to ensure a diversity of views in decision making, Stonesifer said the trustees (Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Buffett) believed that "the structure we have in place is what makes sense for this institution, given their interest in ensuring that we use these first years to focus our work." She noted that more than half the 46 members of the new global development team had lived in the developing world, and the foundation was creating advisory panels in each program area. In response to the recent public outcry about the foundation's lack of a mission-related investment policy, Stonesifer stated her wish that "we'd more clearly articulated our investment policy from the beginning." Regarding corporate behavior, Stonesifer said Bill Gates preferred to "publicly encourage good behavior and work behind the scenes to discourage bad behavior. We believe that for us, this is the most effective way."
In a wide-ranging interview in January with Washington, DC-based radio talk show host Diane Rehm, Stonesifer elaborated on some of the same issues, discussing the values and priorities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's grantmaking in a period of rapid growth. Audio and transcripts of the broadcast are available from Washington's WAMU-FM at wamu.org/programs/dr/07/01/30.php.
Twenty-seventh International Fundraising Congress coming in October
The Resource Alliance's 2007 International Fundraising Congress will take place in Holland October 23-26. Regarded as the world's leading education and training conference on fundraising, this internationally diverse event will offer more than 100 sessions offering the latest advice from the experts and abundant networking opportunities. Last year's sell-out event attracted 900 participants from 57 countries. For more information, contact ifc@resource-alliance.org. The Resource Alliance (www.resource-alliance.org) is a UK charity whose mission is to build the fundraising capabilities of the nonprofit sector worldwide.
World's third wealthiest man dubious on role of philanthropy
At the same time that he announced a new $450 million foundation for health care and research, Mexican telecommunications magnate and philanthropist Carlos Slim said businessmen can do more good by building solid companies than by "going around like Santa Claus," donating money. Slim is the world's third wealthiest man, with a fortune that grew by $19 billion last year, the largest wealth gain by anyone in the past decade, according to Forbes. At a news conference in Mexico City, Slim said he had no interest in competing with his North American counterparts, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who lead him on the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest and have decided to give away much of their fortune during their lifetimes. "Poverty isn't solved by donations," maintained Slim, whose charitable foundations have a reported $4 billion in endowments, but whose giving represents a smaller slice of his fortune than that of Gates or Buffett. Despite his philanthropic activities, Slim's fortune has come under criticism in Mexico, where some people charge that his Telmex company's near monopoly in the fixed-line telephone market has led to high prices. (Associated Press, March 13, 2007)
Giving found to activate pleasure centers in brain
Philanthropists, take note: the warm glow that often accompanies giving may have a physiological basis, according to recent research. Scientists at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, in Bethesda, Maryland, have identified two separate areas of the brain that are activated when individuals choose to contribute money to a worthy cause. The findings were based on magnetic resonance imaging of subjects who made the decision to give away money to charity. Giving was found to stimulate the mesolimbic area of the brain, stimulating the release of dopamine, which causes pleasurable or euphoric sensations. Also affected was the subgenual region of the brain, associated with the release of the hormone oxytocin, which plays a key role in increasing trust and cooperation in humans. "Something in our brains shaped by evolution allows us to feel joy when we do good things," observed Dr. Jorge Moll, the neurologist leading the research. "It is a biological force and we should not ignore it in promoting social welfare." (Economist, October 14 2006)
Incubating entrepreneurial models to combat global poverty
Over the past six years, the Wharton Societal Wealth Program (WSWP -- www.wep.wharton.upenn.edu/research/societalWealth.html) has worked quietly behind the scenes to find innovative business solutions to tough global issues. "We look for messy problems that are seemingly intractable," said James Thompson, who cofounded WSWP in 2001 with Ian McMillan, director of the Wharton School's Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Research Center. WSWP aims to help build for-profit businesses that alleviate societal ills. Its projects in sub-Saharan Africa include health care, with a focus on HIV/AIDS, small-scale agricultural production, animal feed production, and aquaculture. One of its ventures is the Khaya Cookie Company (www.khayacookies.com), founded by former Wall Street investment banker Alicia Polak, which employs local men and women from the township of Khayelitsha in South Africa. In collaboration with WSWP, Polak hopes to replicate the business model in disadvantaged areas in the United States. WSWP does not take an equity stake in start-ups but donates "seed funding" in the form of research and development and travel expenses. It is supported by private philanthropic funding and also draws on the academic resources of the Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania. (Financial Times, February 23, 2007)
New Canadian trust supports partnership approach to overcoming poverty
The Samuel Family Foundation is supporting efforts to reduce poverty and other social problems around the world by providing $250,000 to Synergos Canada, a newly organized trust based in Toronto. Synergos Canada is affiliated with The Synergos Institute. The gift will support Synergos' efforts to convene and learn from "multi-stakeholder partnerships" -- initiatives that bring different sectors of society together to create systemic solutions to specific problems. "In most parts of the world, there is no lack of interest in overcoming poverty. But what's missing are the means to enable very different stakeholders to work together effectively. Without that kind of partnership, finding real solutions is impossible," said Kim Samuel Johnson, President of the Samuel Family Foundation and a Trustee of Synergos Canada, in announcing the gift. Synergos is supporting a variety of such partnership approaches to address societal problems around the world: in India, to combat child malnutrition; in Canada, where aboriginal youth are the focus; and in Namibia, where partners are examining way to improve leadership capacity for public health. Another partnership, the Sustainable Food Lab, is searching for strategies to make food systems more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable. In addition to this new line of international partnerships, the Samuel Family Foundation has a long history of supporting the arts, healthcare and education in Canada.
Giving by US foundations shows double-digit growth two years in a row
Giving by the nation's 71,000 grantmaking foundations rose to $40.7 billion in 2006, according to Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates: Current Outlook (2007 Edition), released April 3 by the Foundation Center (www.foundationcenter.org). This 11.7 % gain followed a 14.3 % increase in 2005. US foundations last reported consecutive years of double-digit growth in giving in the period 1996 to 2001. "The foundation community is both larger and more diverse than was true in the past, which makes its giving less predictable," said Sara Engelhardt, president of the Foundation Center. Independent and family foundations, accounting for nine out of ten foundations, raised their giving by 10.3 %, their first double-digit increase since 2001. Community foundations reported the fastest growth in giving, up 13.2 %. Principal factors driving the growth were strong gains in the stock market and a higher level of new foundation establishment than in the early 2000s. Other factors include elevated payout rates due to greater numbers of "pass-through" foundations and the establishment of operating foundations by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Nearly 60% of surveyed foundations expect their giving to increase in 2007, and overall funding will likely continue to grow at a double-digit pace, according to the survey.
Steep climb charted in US foundations' assets
Buoyed by the rise in the stock market and other successful investments, many of the wealthiest US foundations plan to increase their giving in 2007, according to the findings of a new survey by The Chronicle of Philanthropy (www.philanthropy.com). The Chronicle's annual survey of the nation's largest private foundations is based on the financial information of 188 US grantmaking organizations. Of the 57 philanthropies that estimated their giving for 2007, 37 said grants would increase in 2007. Among other data presented were giving trends at big foundations, a sampling of large grants in 2006, and how much foundations spent on program related investments.
© 2007 The Synergos Institute
|
|
|
