Soros gives $100 million to counter effects of recession in central and Eastern Europe

George Soros is to give $100 million to support organizations working with the poor in central and eastern Europe and help them counter the impact of the economic crisis. In an interview with the Financial Times in which he announced the gift, he urged the European Union to boost its aid for the region to finance increased welfare spending and tackle rising political extremism. ‘The political risk is very severe and the rise of the chauvinistic, xenophobic far right is a disturbing development,’ he said.

US charitable giving overall suffers biggest drop in 50 years but picture mixed

Charitable giving in the US fell by the largest percentage in five decades last year, according to a new study by the Giving USA Foundation. Individuals and institutions made gifts and pledges of $307.65 billion, a decrease of 5.7 per cent on an inflation-adjusted basis over the $314 billion given in 2007, according to the foundation’s research.

Half of UK foundations reducing grantmaking but philanthropists barely affected

Despite investment losses, nearly half of UK charitable foundations expect grantmaking to hold steady or increase in the next year, according to a survey carried out by the Association of Charitable Foundations among its members. From a glass-half-empty point of view, this means that just over half expect grantmaking to fall in the same period, though the longer-term outlook remains optimistic.

Beyond two years, 45 per cent of survey participants expect to increase their grantmaking and another 33 per cent to maintain current levels. Seventy-five per cent of respondents had seen a significant decrease in investment value over the past 12 months and some anticipate changes in the nature of the grants they make next year: 44 per cent are likely to give fewer grants, 27 per cent believe their grants will be smaller, and 23 per cent think they will be given over shorter periods.

With UK philanthropists, the picture is rosier. Almost all of those surveyed earlier this year plan to maintain or increase their giving during the recession, according to a poll by Coutts, the private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The survey of 100 philanthropists in April found that 42 per cent planned to increase their charitable giving, and 45 per cent said they would maintain the same level of donations. Maya Prabhu, senior philanthropy adviser at Coutts, said: ‘While unstructured and spontaneous giving might to some extent fall victim to the economic downturn, results show that we will see some wealthy individuals giving more to help charities.’

In a move to promote charitable giving in the UK, in April the government appointed Dame Stephanie Shirley as the first Giving and Philanthropy Ambassador. She will work to support Ministers and the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) in championing giving and philanthropy.

For more information
Philanthropy UK, 9 June 2009
Third Sector Online, 3 June 2009
www.philanthropyuk.org/NewsandEvents/Latestnews/Givingandphilanthropyamb...

Kiva starts lending in US

In a move that is seen as symptomatic of the growing financial crisis, Kiva.org, the online micro-lender which helps fund small businesses in impoverished countries, began last month lending to low-income entrepreneurs in the US. The US listings will start with about 45 businesses in Boston, New York, Miami, Atlanta and San Francisco. The move is prompted by the reluctance of US banks to lend during the past nine months, said Premal Shah, Kiva's president. People contribute in $25 increments on the basis of business plans on Kiva’s site.

Kellogg Foundation to close two overseas offices

The W K Kellogg Foundation is to close its offices in São Paolo, Brazil, and Pretoria, South Africa, this summer because of asset declines of almost 22 per cent last year. The decision follows the recent announcement by the Ford Foundation of its decision to close offices in Moscow and Vietnam. Sterling Speirn, Kellogg’s president, said Kellogg would continue to support charities in the affected regions and would honour all its grant commitments.