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Attitudes of the wealthy
Friday, May 11th, 2012
“Futurewealth 2012″ is a new research report with some useful breakdowns about the attitudes of people making major gifts. It’s unashamed in seeing donating as a consumer behaviour – something akin to buying a nice watch, or a car. In general, it’s a very odd piece of research (few reports open with the line “the wealthy are being let down”), but worth a look if major donor fundraising is on your list. READ MORE (pdf)
Say no to zero fundraising costs
Friday, November 18th, 2011
The report of the Global Philanthropy summit makes 32 recommendations to improve the sector. They are all broadly sensible. One interesting view is that organisations should ‘stop talking about zero fundraising costs’ because there is no such thing. They write “it is well established that fundraising and administration ratios provide no meaningful basis for comparison between nonprofit organizations”. Which is true, but that hasn’t yet stopped people using them. They suggest the sector (in the US) needs to get better at policing itself. READ MORE (pdf)
More Mission Investing
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
Grantmaking foundations often have a ‘church and state’ division between their endowment and their grants. Strategically, it’s an artificial distinction. A foundation is just a pot of money that can be deployed to achieve goals. Mission investing is part of this. This new study tracks how Foundations are directing their assets towards mission-related investment. It’s a small step in the right direction by a risk-averse sector. READ MORE
A blot on Jobs’ record?
Friday, September 2nd, 2011
Steve Jobs is leaving Apple with a record as one of the greatest businessmen and technologists of all time. Despite this, the New York Times found one area where he fell short – his lack of public philanthropy. Famously focused, he might argue that anything that detracts from his vision at Apple is an unnecessary distraction. But it seems we now live in a world where not giving your money away (for billionaires at least) is considered unacceptable. How far might this go? Both in terms of levels of giving and levels of wealth? Read more.
A £2bn call to action
Friday, June 24th, 2011
The Philanthropy Review has published its call to action to increase giving in the UK by £2bn by 2015. It says this can be done through initiatives in areas like payroll giving, charity bank accounts and reform of Gift Aid. It’s a crisper, more focused document than the Giving Green Paper, but proposes a similar portfolio of changes. Read more.
Giving White Paper
Friday, May 27th, 2011
Whilst enthusiastic in its language, in policy terms, the Giving White Paper was not a radical document. Much of what was proposed has been around for a while. Big and difficult ideas – compulsory giving by foundations, wholesale reform of Gift Aid – weren’t there. Payroll giving got another push, as it does from time to time. The focus on ideas like ATM giving suggests a little too much focus on transactions and not enough on motivations. Hopefully this paper is the start of a journey towards bigger and more ambitious proposals. This article by Matt Bishop offers a good summary. Read more.
Rich getting richer, giving less
Friday, May 13th, 2011
The Sunday Times Rich List has an increasing focus on philanthropy and has worked with CAF on the Giving List. Whilst the wealth of the richest continues to grow, giving in the year is down £818m to £1.67bn. These major donors talk more about impact, research and strategic giving than other donors, and suggest that charities could improve both their communications and advice. But 97% still cite ‘personal values’ as the reason that they give. In the end, their gifts are governed by emotional motivations, too. Read more.
Royal Wedding Gift List
Friday, March 18th, 2011
Instead of gifts, Prince William and Kate Middleton are asking for charitable donations. They’ve launched a website to process donations and it’s interesting to look at the charities they have selected. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a focus on care rather than research, the domestic rather than the international and smaller charities rather than big brands. Service charities are featured, but they also pick three community foundations, a part of the sector which we see as a bit of a sleeping giant. This is how people really choose charities – a broad portfolio of causes and themes that speak to them, personally. Read more.
Private investment in culture
Friday, February 18th, 2011
According to Arts+Business, private investment in culture was £658m in 2009/10 - a decline of 3% on the year before. This is only 7% of the money going into the sector and it is hugely concentrated. 68% of the private money goes to London and 72% goes to the largest organisations. Culture is one of those areas where significant cuts are being made with an expectation that private money can fill the gap. This report shows the scale of challenge. Read more.
Google struggles to reinvent philanthropy
Friday, February 4th, 2011
Google.org was set up with much fanfare and an endowment of Google stock. It was suggested that one day it might “eclipse Google itself”. Today, its ambition seems much narrower, with a focus on Google-style projects like Flu Trends. Relative to its peers, Google is a generous company but its behaviour is increasingly that of a traditional corporate philanthropist. This article reviews why that has happened. READ MORE