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Fall 2009
Global Giving Round-Up
Overviews of best-practices around the world and links to learn more about them
Pakistani companies step up CSR efforts
The launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility Pakistan Yearbook 2009 brought together more than 150 corporate executives, diplomats, government officials, and members of civil society and the media to discuss existing corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts and encourage new ones. The Yearbook, published by Capital Business, provides general information about CSR as well as examples of good practices among Pakistani companies. “About 40% of the corporate companies in Pakistan think CSR means merely paying taxes… Only 5% clearly understand that CSR means directly implementing social development activities and projects,” said Ammanullah Khan, senior program officer at the Islamabad-based Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (www.pcp.org.pk). Other corporations face challenges in implementing social responsibility projects in the absence of government support. Khan believes that partnerships between the government and nonprofit organizations could play a pivotal role in expediting community-development programs. Naveed Khwaja, COO of English Biscuits Manufacturers, said, “As a group, we can work with the government on putting in place a regulatory framework that could encourage, promote and measure the tangible benefits of CSR.” Capital Business provides CSR consulting and other services to corporations and development agencies. (DAWN News, August 8, 2009)
Wealthy Muslims’ zakat to charity fund
The World Zakat Fund, an initiative of the Malaysian government, is set to launch in 2010 and expects to raise approximately $10 billion, particularly from 400 billionaires in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as 40,000 other high-net-worth individuals in the region. The money will come from zakat, 2.5% of their savings which Muslims (only those who are able to save) are expected to set aside for charity donations, although in some Muslim countries, the money is automatically extracted from savings accounts. Instead of being immediately donated to poverty relief, sixty-five percent of the money will be invested in sharia-compliant micro-equity and micro-finance, as well as social projects. Some Islamic scholars criticize this strategy, and say that zakat should not be invested: “The priority is to give, not grow zakat,” said Mohamad Akram Laldin, a sharia scholar and an advisor to HSBC. (Reuters, September 29, 2009)
Vehbi Koç Foundation recognized in its 40th year with Carnegie Medal
Rahmi Koç, the son of Vehbi Koç, accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy on behalf of his family, at an awards ceremony held in New York. Vehbi Koç’s eponymous foundation was the first philanthropic foundation in Turkey, and supports education, health, and culture. Koç and his sister, Semahat Arsel, the foundation’s administrator, both spoke of their father in acceptance of the award. Arsel explained her father’s struggle to bring philanthropic ideas to Turkey: “When he created [the foundation] 40 years ago, we didn’t have laws to provide the basis for philanthropy, so he had to fight to institute such laws.” Koç recalled his father’s and Carnegie’s lasting influence on the foundation: “Andrew Carnegie’s words on how it’s more difficult to spend money wisely than to earn it were frequently repeated by our father, and they became our guide in philanthropy. As his children, we continued his legacy and his philosophy.” (Today’s Zaman, October 17, 2009; onPhilanthropy.com, October 23, 2009)
Mexican Billionaire joins with Grameen for micro-lending in Mexico
Carlos Slim, through his Carlos Slim Foundation, will contribute $45 million to a micro-lending program called Grameen Carso, launched with Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. The program will begin lending to women in Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s poorest states. Instead of offering a guarantee for the loan, applicants will submit a proposal to receive a twelve-month loan averaging $267. “Women always pay back the loans and the money they receive is put toward the well-being of their families,” said a Slim Foundation spokesperson. The program will eventually expand to other Mexican states. (Reuters, September 23, 2009)
Alibaba CEO Jack Ma to launch Grameen China microfinance bank
“If you have money, but have not turned this money into an experience to elevate your own or other people’s level of happiness, then you may very well only possess a lot of symbols and a mountain of very colorful pieces of paper.” So wrote Jack Ma in a letter to his employees at the Alibaba Group. He has now contributed $5 million to Grameen China, a new initiative he has founded with Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. Grameen China will make loans to small farmers and businesspeople in the poorest regions of that country. Ma and Yunus hope to attract other investors and corporate sponsors. (New York Times, September 24 2009)
Jet Li brings philanthropy to China’s social-networking users
Jet Li is promoting his One Foundation on kaixin001.com, China’s largest social-networking site with forty million users. Li and Cheng Binghao, CEO and founder of kaixin001.com, hope that the partnership will give Chinese “netizens,” and especially young people, an easy way to participate in charity projects. Kaixini001.com users will be able to register as “fans” of One Foundation to receive news updates and interact with other fans about charity projects. Jet Li is a world-famous martial artist and movie star; his One Foundation, in collaboration with the Red Cross Society of China, focuses on education, health, environment, and poverty issues. The foundation is rooted in the notion that “one person plus one dollar/yuan plus one month equals one big family.” (China Daily, Aug 27, 2009)
Hong Kong philanthropist Yu Pang-lin donates to typhoon relief
Hong Kong-based philanthropist Yu Pang-lin recently donated HK$5 million (US$645,150) to the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission to provide aid to families in Taiwan affected by typhoon Morakot. With his third donation to Taiwan, Yu ranks high on China’s list of philanthropists. The founder of Hong Kong’s Yu Charitable Foundation and the Shenzhen Yu Panglin Social Welfare Association, his donations, mostly aimed at health and education, and totalled US$420 million in 2008. In 2004, Yu began the Panglin Brightness Action campaign to offer operations free of charge for almost 150,000 cataract sufferers in poor areas over a five-year period. Yu hopes his consistent dedication to philanthropy “will encourage more participation from others.” (Taiwan News, August 15, 2009)
California roaster names coffee blend after Zimbabwean activist
San Rafael, California, coffee roaster Equator Estate has named a new blend after Zimbabwean activist Chido Govero. Orphaned at a young age, Govero was forced to drop out of elementary school to provide for her family, but was eventually adopted by researcher Margaret Tagwira, who afforded her the opportunity to return to school and learn about mushroom farming. Govero has travelled throughout Colombia, India, Kenya, and the San Francisco Bay Area to teach sustainable farming techniques to underprivileged orphans. Today, Govero has written a book about her experience in a Zimbabwean village teaching orphans how to provide for themselves and escape abuse through self-sufficiency and food security. She hopes to continue to spread her knowledge throughout Africa to generate jobs and alleviate hunger using local resources. (Metro Santa Cruz, August 19, 2009)
Voluntary airline tax could raise billions for WHO
A new funding strategy to raise money for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in Africa will ask online-airfare consumers for a donation of US$2 with their purchase. The idea came from Phillipe Douste-Blazy, a UN special advisor in charge of innovative funding for UNITAID, a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO). Backing the plan are big players in both the philanthropy world, such as the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and in the travel industry, including the CEOs of Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport, worldwide leaders in reservation and ticketing systems. The initiative is set to launch in the United States and Europe in January, and the possibility of launching in African countries is also being discussed. Estimates state that the “tax” could bring in up to $1billion. Clinton told reporters at a press conference, “If you provide a user-friendly, efficient way of giving…there’s no question that large numbers of people will contribute if they know how little it costs and how many lives are saved.” (Time, September 18, 2009; New York Times, May 21, 2009)
Former clothing execs purchase South American land for national parks
Husband-and-wife Doug and Kris Tompkins are pioneering land and wildlife conservation in South America. Since leaving the outdoor-clothing industry in the United States – Doug was the founder of The North Face and Esprit, while Kris was CEO of Patagonia – they have spent the past twenty years buying land, restoring ecosystems, and donating land back to the government as national parks. So far, they have purchased almost one million hectares in Argentina and Chile, and have helped establish two national parks in Patagonia. They do have critics, however; many are distrustful of foreign landowners, and anti-Americanism has fuelled accusations about the Tompkins’ motives, but “all these things are society’s ways of beginning to accommodate new ideas,” says Kris. Currently, the Tompkins are working to create Argentina’s largest national park and to restore endangered species. Sofia Heinonen, a biologist working with the Tompkins’ initiatives, hopes that “perhaps in some years we will bring back the jaguar; that is our big dream.” (CNN, October 7, 2009)
Mobile phone magnate promotes good governance in Africa
Sudanese-born businessman and philanthropist Mohamed “Mo” Ibrahim thinks Africa isn’t doing as well as it could. “In 2009, there is no reason for Africans to feel disadvantaged…. I am sick of people portraying Africa as a poor country, with refugee’s camp and sick and malnourished children. We have the best of everything in the world and when we are given the opportunity to showcase our skills, we excel,” he told The Voice UK. He believes that once people look past Africa’s rocky history, and once Africans “move away from the psychology that we always need aid,” the continent has the power to surpass all other countries. Ibrahim has put his money and influence, earned through the sale of his multibillion-dollar telecommunications company Celtel, behind giving Africans such an opportunity through encouraging good governance. “I really believe that the essential requirement for Africa today is good governance. Without good governance there is no hope.”
With good governance in mind, his foundation produces the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which ranks sub-Saharan African countries. “All we hear about Africa in the west is Darfur, Zimbabwe, Congo, Somalia, as if that is all there is. Yet there are 53 countries in Africa, and many of them are doing well,” Ibrahim tells The Guardian in an interview earlier this year. The index is a tool not only for leaders, but for citizens, as well: this year, the foundation published the findings in multiple African newspapers in local languages. (The Voice UK, August 3, 2009; The Guardian, February 1, 2009)
© 2008 The Synergos Institute
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