Regranting a smart option? Etienne Eichenberger, Theresa Lloyd, Padraic Brick and Judith Symonds respond to Jacob Harold

A smart option, but an option Click here to read ...

Interview - Nabil Qaddumi

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Is philanthropy ignoring the real money?

High net worth individuals are responsible for 50 per cent of annual charitable giving in the US, but they do not have access to appropriate philanthropy advice. While foundations, which provide only 13 per cent of annual giving, are catered to by specialized consultants and small donors are aptly served by low-cost administrators, services for those who give the most are lacking. The ‘missing middle’ is the role of private client adviser, who can provide personalized advice in a relationship-based format rather than on a more traditional consultant model. Click here to read ...

Regranting: smart humility?

A seven year-old girl named Olivia took her life savings, $35, and donated it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Was Olivia naive to increase the Gates Foundation’s endowment by 0.0000001 per cent? Or does her generous act offer us insight into a new philanthropic model? Click here to read ...

Million dollar individual giving ‘slowed down but not stopping’ in late 2008

According to the Million Dollar List compiled by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, there were 33 per cent fewer gifts of $1 million or over from individuals in the US in the last six months of 2008 than in the same period of 2007. For the year overall, however, the numbers for 2008 were 4 per cent higher than for 2007. ‘Stock market declines and the credit crisis have slowed giving of large gifts, but have not stopped it,’ suggests Patrick Rooney, interim executive director of the Center. ‘The numbers for the last half of 2008 show that wealthy donors appear to be thinking carefully about how much to give and when in this economy.’

Source
Philanthropy UK, 5 March 2009 Click here to read ...

Study finds snob value of charitable events a stimulus to giving

Appealing to donors’ sense of status may provide a stimulus to fundraising, according to new research conducted in Pittsburgh by the Tepper School of Business at the US’s Carnegie Mellon University. The study, The Joys of Giving and Receiving, analysed data for ten of Pittsburgh's largest cultural and environmental organizations, and found that exclusive or high-profile benefits, such as invitations to dinner parties and other special events where they can rub shoulders with other high-status individuals, are by far the strongest incentives for donors to support charities, above and beyond the pleasure of giving. Among other things, the study found that the numbers of donors who support several charities would decline significantly if high-value private benefits were eliminated. Click here to read ...

Slim to give away to 7.9 billion pesos to healthcare and education

Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim Helu has announced plans to spend 7.9 billion pesos ($512 million) through his charities to improve health and education in Mexico this year. The contributions of the Carlos Slim Foundation and the Telmex Foundation will fund neonatal care, scholarships and sports programmes, among other projects, according to a statement from Slim’s Grupo Carso SAB in March. The programmes will benefit almost 400,000 families, the company said.

Source
Bloomberg.com, 10 March 2009 Click here to read ...

Chinese glass magnate to give fortune to charity

Chinese tycoon Cao Dewang plans to give away CNY4.1 billion (US$599 million), according to Chinese sources. Cao has told the Chinese authorities that he intends to set up a foundation and give it 70 per cent of his shares in Fuyao Glass Industry Group Company. If approval is given for the foundation, Cao would become China's most charitable entrepreneur, replacing Yu Pengnian, who has donated CNY3 billion from his real estate fortune to charity since 2003.

Source
CNNmoney.com Click here to read ...

Donor intent

Donor intent: should all philanthropy receive tax privileges equally?

Philanthropy is nothing if not voluntary activity. Donors, by definition, are not compelled to give to the public good. They do so from their own private motives. The world is a better place because of private generosity. Click here to read ...

Three in the bed?

The phenomenon of ‘new philanthropy’ has seen a number of shifts in the attitudes of wealthy donors, notably the desire to see tangible impact and to become actively engaged by offering skills and expertise in addition to financial support. This has also placed growing emphasis on the role of professional advisers – lawyers, accountants, and bankers – in advising high-net-worth clients about how best to structure their philanthropic gifts to maximize the impact. Click here to read ...