This week we had "Giving Tuesday", big money for renewable energy promised by Gates, Bezos and Zuckerberg in Paris, international mayors promised 10% of their budgets towards resilience, Facebook founder Zuckerberg pledged to give away 99% of his Facebook shares to whatever good causes, and Al-Jazeera published American author Moseley’s piece "The dark alliance of global philanthropy and capitalism". It’s a good week to look at the impact of philanthropy.
| |
| Annual Giving in the US: $358 billion and rising |
There is no shortage of the functions that people think the nonprofit sector should or could cover. Foundations and non-profits are variously seen as charity, job creators, as engines for economic development, counterweights to the injustices of capitalism, or as entities that step in where government fails, Can non-profits really do all that?
Nationwide 1,238,201 organizations were classified as 501(c)(3) charities, foundations or religious organizations, a really staggering number that one would expect to have a significant impact. An annual $358 billion impact. In fact, the range of the definition is so wide that in order to discuss impact a distinction needs to be made between private foundations and public charities and between giving organizations (who fund things by providing grants) and advocacy non-profits (who receive grants).
| |
| where the donation money goes: Religious charities have the lion share |
America with its suspicion about the role of government has always relied much more on philanthropy, charity and foundation work to assist the needy and rectify social ills than, for example, Europe, where the expectation is that government will take care of those in need. But the juxtaposition of government and charity doesn't work as intended when government, foundations and the private sector essentially respond to the same cyclical...
Read full article
------------------------------
Nikolaus Philipsen FAIA
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
Baltimore MD
------------------------------