Mike Simpson

fr [email protected] -r-\ ffit 0 culturrU b (: tit- ) Despite disbelief iI some circles, a recent international philanthropy survey showed South Africans to be the second-most generous country in the world. But how do other emerging nations compare when it comes to the culture of 'giving back" to those who are less affluent? By MIKE SIMPSON nfomation on formal philanthrcpy in non-First World countries is notoriously hard to come by. However, in line with tlobal trends,theredoesseemlobeanincrE.sE "Private philanthropy ls on the upswiiS around the world, as entrcnched ways of 8lvin8 make way for lhe moe dynamic and accounrabE types of philanthropy thai hav€ found favour in tie lJnited States," notes the Hudson tnstitute, a Washin8ton 0C based ihinl-tant and policy research or8anisatlon, lndex of Global PhilanthDpy and Remitrances in ts to Alliance magazane, a UK-based publication covering Slobal philanthropy and social in!€stment, there are few formal strate8ies to assist weallhy individuais and busiresses in aidlnt charities in a structured way exampl€. However, accordinS Ihe Hudson lnstitute report also expresses concern at "the lackof involvement hy newly weaftt'y business leaders distinSuished themselveswith philanthrcp/. ... lwho) have not report entltled Russia's state meddling 2010 lr "TherchasbeenasuEeof SivinginlndiaandChina Andtheso-called BRIC emeBinS economles ol8ra2il, Russia, lndia and china have seen lhe eme€ence or robusl philanthropic scto6," the rcport says. "lvost philanihropic actviryin Russia ls conduded by folndations lndia on the rise established bywealthy oligarchs and coeorations," says the Hudson ndcations are that phllaithmpy in lnda is not only alive and wel, but trowing lndeed, Microsoft folnderBlllGates - no s ouch himsell when it comes to suppo(ina the concept of 'tivins back" - has predicted that lndia will one day be second only to the llnited Srates in terms of philanth.opic Rlssia ph lanthropy has incre.s€d ma&edly since communism ar .nnLal corporate donor base once as low ss S1 milhon. businesses now grc aound 52 5 brlllon annually ended. From lnstitute. 'Corporate Svin8 a.counts for 60% of philanthrcpy However, ahost half s linked to lhe support of corporate 'lowns established in lhe communist era." FM individuals donate to private volunlary or8anisations (known .ctivity. as PVos) because ofrnistrust brouSht about by past scandals. rhis dve to chadty and a rnassive 96% of uppeF ard middle-class is exacerbared by the le8acy of ihe communist e6 duriS which charities were banned. lnstead, most private donations go to poor households in urban ar$s donate to wonhycauses- individ!als or ro state{un orphanages and cultural institutions. For the momenl however the fmus remains on the t@ditioml apprcach where we8lthy familes and buslnesses Sive to poorer Even the Flgurcs released lastyear indicate thai 40% lndlvlduals, take extra care ofalllndian households oftheir statr, or donate to churches or - wher€ cun€ Sovemment seems to reEard pdvate chaities with dlstrust and rh6re are exampres of philamhrcpists being "told" to put their mor€y lnto pDjects favoured by the state. temples. There's also a stron8 culture olgrass-roots givlng vlllagels assist each other ln times or famine, lllness or death, for Part oflhls antipalhy stems fofr fie past activit es of civi lberty and pro democracy insttutons which the . threal. ln 2006, a nee polticalelite law required all NGOS to China exercises control reSard as re register and be take Russia, the more authontarian regime in China discouESesthe ebject to 8o!€rnmenr audir, while the lunds of some oaanisarions $owth ofphi16nthropy outsidestate conirol. usually, onlythe China RedCmssandMir stryorCivilAfia rsareabletoconductfund-ra slnS activites rel6ted to disaster rel6l AIL other non-profit actvltles a€ stnct, reEulated and known as "Government-Operated NonGo!€rnmenlal o€anisations' (mercifully shodened to 60NGOS). Erazil's Catholic legacy 'The economic developmeni of Brazil in the hn 15 years has spawned a wide and increasln8y wealthy philanthrcpc sector," says Alliance These are typcally admnhtered by Eovemment employees and lhe state continues to regard private NGos wlh suspic on, w th the ma8azine.li also notes thEt there has been a boom n oEani$tions which suppon the Dharjtable sector and give advice to r€a[try individuals and famllies off ciEl reason beht a "lack of transpaency''. on how best to channel their tunds Neveiheless, there are Srowiig rumbeu of wealthy individu:ls and businesses which have thsir own foundalions and donate to the communityvia the GONGOS, Businesses account for more than 40% of all philanthopic activity in china and over 1 500 pnvale the ma8azine advises that, because the sector is still €latively new, any Suidance must be viercd with caution. "Their {the advisors) knowledge of civil eciety can vary wildly, as can their However, f oundationsarenowin existence.Whilethere isa hislorical culture of overall evels ofphiaithropy are Low compared to developed econom€s h dr effon ro promotBrl" ph osophy ol I virS amort indivldual Chinese, the one Foundation, founded by popular 8lv n8, Philantnropy in Erazil has a lon6 history dle to the eariy utork of rhe Catholic Church,which supported many cntical social s€ruices oqatriate kunEJu aclor, Jet-Li, encourages monthly donations ofas littleasoneyuan (justoverRl) during lhe depressed er3 of military rule fiom the 1960s to the 1980s. Despite this lndivldLral EivinS Ls far ess common than corporate donaliont mainly because there are f ewtax incentlves for BRIC individuals to donate, as well 6s limited optaons for settiry up non 0n a more positive noie, the numberofcoporate foundatlons Srew by more tian summary "Tne SrowinE philanthrcpic sectors in the BRlc countnes differ based on cultural vadiiionr attitudes about chartyand go\,€rnment re8Lrlation,"saystheHudsonlnnituteinthes!.nmaryof its ndexof GIobrl Philanthropy and Rem ttances 2010. "However, foundauons and think tanks in these counties ae workinS to encourate a 150% between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s. owr S90 billion Fundacion &asesco isthe largesr such body and has cullurc of phalanlhropy." Retional variation in the givinSof money,iimo.nd helpinga stlanger 80 7A 6 o { He pingAstrang€r 60 xo T' bo s40 o E' 2A o 10 o .& -.o $d -1" ^"- ^3A .d c'' ;$:t"J "'au r&o8 sd" ..* oc- R€gion "a.,$t,""- "T *t^".sna* o* ,.*",s "r-.' Chaities Aid toundation rccently pubrhhed The world Giving lndoc which was compiled makry use or Gallup surueys of som€ 19s 000 people in 153 countries Unlike olher phllanrhropic studies, this pollsimpryasked people on theground ifthEyhadgiven money ro chadry, volunteered or hepedastran8erinthe ast month. Australia and New zea and topped the index Ma ta saw some 83% or the population 8lvln8 money while ihe people oiTurkmenistanwerethemost6enerouswiththeirtime,with 6l% h6vinsgventimetocharity Lberianswereiopwhen ltcameto help nB =