Charity and Philanthropy For Dummies

Karl T. Muth, Michael T. S. Lindenmayer, John Kluge

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781119941873
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119943945
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Nonprofit Organizations & Charities
• Index: Business

The easy way to make a difference

Despite tough economic times, rates of donations are on the rise. If you want to make a difference but don't know where to start, you need Charity & Philanthropy For Dummies.

This is your one-stop, no-nonsense guide to charitable activities. Inside you'll find lots of strategies for philanthropic work such as volunteering your time, raising funds, donating your own cash or expertise, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship. You'll also find lots of case studies from charities big and small to show you what works and what doesn't.

• Help with selecting where to donate or invest
• Ideas for how you can make a difference without having pots of money
• Advice on socially responsible and impact investing
• Techniques for reaching out to others to help your cause - from a local to a global level

You don't need deep pockets to make a difference—you need Charity & Philanthropy For Dummies.

Part I

Getting Started with Charity & Philanthropy

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more and do more with For Dummies.

In this part

• Discover ways to find charities that are doing the most effective work and using your money most efficiently.
• Include new methods of philanthropy in your plan for generosity aside from writing cheques.
• Learn when it might be better to volunteer or donate your professional services to a charity rather than give your money.
• Find out what the common pitfalls are for everyday people who become philanthropists, and how to avoid them.

Chapter 1

Introducing Philanthropy: Your Passport to Helping Others

In This Chapter

Discovering philanthropy and how to join in

Considering different ways to help and causes to support

Maintaining your enthusiasm and commitment

Helping today and in the future

Congratulations! By buying this book you've taken an important step towards giving more effectively, enjoyably and strategically. In fact, you're already a philanthropist, because we're donating our proceeds from the book to charities (see the Appendix to see where these proceeds are going).

Perhaps you're unconvinced that buying this book qualifies you to be a philanthropist. After all, the word is associated with the likes of John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and, more recently, Bill and Melinda Gates and Jeffery Skoll (we write more about the latter in Chapter 11). Seems like a pretty exclusive – and well-heeled – club to get into. But when you consider what a philanthropist really is, you see that you can fit right in.

The word philanthropy simply means to love your fellow humans (it's a combination of two Greek words: philos (to love) and anthrop (humans)). Toss in the ‘ist’ at the end and the definition changes slightly to ‘one who loves his (or her) fellow human beings’. And that's you!

Although the word is often used to mean handing over cash to others, philanthropy can be much more than that. Here are some of the things you can give:

• Your time: For example, volunteering to help at an event or at a charity's project site (check out Chapter 12 for more).
• Your talents: For example, pro bono use of your professional or other skills (read Chapter 13 to find out how).
• Your treasure: Which can include financial giving, but also that old car or the smartphone lying in your sock drawer (see Chapter 14).
• Your money through your everyday transactions: Such as buying a pair of glasses from an organisation that provides another pair to a person in the developing world (Chapter 15 has the details).

This chapter is an introduction to the book and to philanthropy and how you can start to make a difference today. We cover ways to give, selecting which organisations to help and focusing on immediate needs and longer-term aims. We also provide tips on keeping up your commitment.

Getting into the Spirit of Giving and Philanthropy

A core focus of this book is helping you to be more effective in your philanthropy. The fact that you're even holding it means that you're probably already interested in giving. Throughout this book, we help you understand the ‘what’ (see Part III) and the ‘who’ and ‘where’ (read the chapters in Part II) of giving, and because change is only possible when people take action, we focus throughout on the ‘how’ of giving. But in this section, we discuss the ‘why’ – the ‘spirit’ of giving – because it's a prime mover, the first cause, of all other charitable or philanthropic actions and endeavours you – or anyone else – take.

Without the spirit of giving, the ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘where’, and ‘how’ of giving simply don't exist.

Reasons for giving are as diverse as people: some give to help their local communities; others to help regions far across the world. Some give as a way of advocating for a cause, such as housing for the homeless or food for the hungry; others to support community resources, such as libraries and parks. Some give to provide necessities, such as fresh drinking water or access to healthy foods; others to make the highest cultural expressions of art, music, and architectural masterpieces accessible to all. Some give to help people reach their potential; others to ease the pain and fear of terminal illness.

People who give are young and old, rich and poor, from cities and the country; they're people of religious faith and none, from all racial and ethnic backgrounds, and of all educational levels. In fact, the only thing they all share is that they want to make a difference for the better.

You find your motivation by tapping into your own spirit of giving. Then you just need to find a way to express that motivation as you set about changing the world for the better.

Beacons of light

Each year, the Beacon Fellowship Charitable Trust (beaconfellowship.org.uk) gives an award to people (individuals, families, and small groups of individuals) who make particularly noteworthy philanthropic achievements in the UK and around the world. To demonstrate the wide spread of philanthropic champions and causes, and to inspire you, check out the following 2013 Beacon Fellows (some names you'll know and others will be new to you):

• Harris Bokhari: National advisory board member for the Prince of Wales's charity Mosaic (www.mosaicnetwork.co.uk), an organisation that sends mentors into primary and secondary schools to help young people living in disadvantaged communities (we discuss education philanthropy in detail in Chapter 5).
• Richard Bradbury CBE: Fundamental supporter of the charity Scope (www.scope.org.uk), which supports disabled people and their families (see Chapter 8 for more on helping the ill and disabled).
• Angila Chada and Michael McKibbin: Ambassadors for the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (www.communityfoundationni.org), which supports community development to drive social change.
• Sir Ronald Cohen: Chair, Big Society Capital (www.bigsocietycapital.com); Former Chair, Social Investment Task Force; Former Chair Commission on Unclaimed Assets; Co-Founder and Former Chair, Bridges Ventures; and Co-founder and former Director, Social Financial UK.
• Carol Colburn Grigor CBE: Manages her family-founded Dunard Fund (opencharities.org/charities/295790), which makes donations for the training and performance of classical music, the education and display of visual arts, and construction of new architectural masterpieces (see Chapter 13 for more on these areas).
• Stephen Dawson OBE: Co-founder of Impetus Trust (www.impetus.org.uk), which supports charity sustainability, effectiveness, and growth through venture philanthropy (see Chapter 10 for details on this subject).
• Lloyd Dorfman CBE: Member of the National Theatre Board (www.nationaltheatre.org.uk), which is ‘dedicated to the constant revitalisation of the great traditions of the British stage and to expanding the horizons of audiences and artists alike’ (Chapter 13 covers the arts).
• Sir Vernon Ellis: Chairman of the National Opera Studio, President of English National Opera, Chair of the British Council, President of the Classical Opera Company, former Trustee of the Royal College of Music and RCM Fellow (for arts philanthropy, turn to Chapter 13).
• Nick Ferguson CBE and Jane Ferguson: Founders of The Kilfinan Trust (www.foundationscotland.org.uk/programmes/kilfinan.aspx), which supports ‘voluntary organisations and charities working in the Kilfinan area of Argyll and Bute’ that seek to ‘encourage young people to learn economic skills to stay in the Kilfinan area’ and to ‘help young families facing rural isolation’.
• Michael Harris, Adam Pike, Sam Cohen, Alex Dwek, Alex Gardner, Paul Gorrie, Niccolo Manzoni, Jack Prevezer, Conor Quinn: Founders of Young Philanthropy Syndicate, a new philanthropic model that ‘enables young professionals to invest in niche projects, with the support of experienced philanthropists’ (www.youngphilanthropy.org.uk).
• Sir Thomas Hughes-Hallett: Ex-Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care (www.mariecurie.org.uk), which provides end-of-life care to the terminally ill.
• Harvey McGrath: Chair of the education charity, The Prince's Teaching Institute (www.princes-ti.org.uk), an organisation committed to ‘increasing aspiration and improving education in state-funded secondary schools’ (read about education philanthropy in Chapter 5).
• Paul Marshall: Co-founder and trustee of international children's charity ARK (www.arkonline.org), which works for chi...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started with Charity & Philanthropy
• Part II: Knowing Where Your Money Goes: Which Sector Is For You?
• Part III: Delivering on Your Good Intentions: Practical Ways to Get Involved
• Part IV: The Part of Tens
• Appendix: Where We're Donating Our Resources and Why
• About the Authors
• Cheat Sheet
• More Dummies Products