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October-December 2008
Resources & Links
Activities, Web sites and other cutting-edge information for global givers
“I’m Not Rockefeller” study inspects giving habits of the wealthy
A new study by the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, based on interviews with 33 high net worth individual philanthropists, found that many givers rely predominantly on peers for information – as one respondent put it: “[Peer philanthropist convenings] are really, really useful, and they’re a no-fundraising zone.” Another stated, “...if we don’t know the person asking us or it’s coming from some impersonal channel...we won’t fund it.” Many also hold an ambivalent or confused view of evaluation, despite the desire for their philanthropy to have an impact and a widespread view of impact data as important in determining what organizations to fund. Many do not describe themselves as philanthropists, despite giving an average of $1 million annually. Many describe themselves as “advocates” for the organizations they support. Full text of the study is available online at www.impact.penn.edu.
Global Philanthropists Circle Annual Meeting examines poverty, climate change and girls empowerment
In September, Synergos held the Global Philanthropists Annual Meeting at Rockefeller University in New York City. In addition to breakout sessions led by GPC Members and other resource people on topics such as “Promoting Peace through Philanthropic Action” and “Intergenerational Philanthropy,” the event included three large sessions. Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC; Maria Eitel, President of the Nike Foundation; and Peter Buffett, co-Chair of the NoVo Foundation talked about their joint efforts to empower girls, and the tremendous impact such interventions can have. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement; and Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University talked about climate change and ways in which philanthropists can work on this issue. That session was moderated by Adele Simmons, co-editor of Global Giving Matters and a member of Synergos’ Board of Directors. Synergos’ Chair Peggy Dulany interviewed Emilio Azcárraga Jean, the CEO of Televisa, about philanthropy in Latin America. Throughout the event, more than 100 participants looked at the benefits and challenges of inclusive partnerships, how to leverage their influence for social impact, and considered new approaches to addressing the root causes of poverty and inequity. Transcripts of the large group sessions, photos, video highlights and a background paper on philanthropy and climate change are available online at www.gpcparlor.org.
Alliance magazine looks at response to world’s biggest issues
In a special feature called “How far will they go?,” the December issue of Alliance magazine (www.alliancemagazine.org) looks at what foundations are prepared to do to solve some of the most urgent problems facing the human race, such as climate change, proliferation of nuclear weapons or HIV/AIDS. Several articles examine on the reasons why many foundations don’t address such topics, but the issue also presents some exceptions to this practice. One example is the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation of India, which has shifted its programs to include a major focus on climate change. Alliance includes an interview with Uday Khemka (who is also a member of the Global Philanthropists Circle and Synergos’ Board of Directors) about this, which offers some interesting insight into how programmatic change can occur within family foundations. Khemka also talks about the critical role of organizations from the South playing a global role, saying, “One of the big issues for our Foundation was, coming from a poor country, should we really be working on a global level? Shouldn’t we be focusing our limited resources on India, where hundreds of millions of people are still in poverty? But we soon realized that climate change is such an important global issue that, in so far as we could make a difference, we should look at it globally, not just in India.” Diana Leat, of the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at the Cass Business School London, is guest editor of this issue.
© 2008 The Synergos Institute
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