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Posts Tagged ‘philanthropy’

Philanthropy: George Soros and Human Rights Watch

September 9th, 2010 | No Comments

George Soros gives $100m to Human Rights Watch

George Soros has long planned to give away the vast bulk of his fortune, even before fellow billionaires such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates made the idea fashionable. Now aged 80, the legendary investor no longer believes he can donate all his estimated $14 billion in his lifetime (not least because of his remarkable knack of making even more money). But nobody can accuse him of not trying. On September 7th, in the first in what is expected to be a series of whopping gifts, he gave $100m to Human Rights Watch, a global campaigning group. That should cement his reputation as the greatest backer of “freedom” as a cause, rather as Mr Gates has adopted public health. The gift will be paid out in annual chunks over the next decade, but with one big string attached: every dollar of his must be matched by another from someone else.

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Philanthropy: Keeping up with the Gateses

June 17th, 2010 | No Comments

The world’s leading philanthropists ask other tycoons to join their movement

ONE of the unlikeliest books of last year was “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!”, a fictional account by Ralph Nader, a veteran left-wing campaigner, of a movement of billionaires led by Warren Buffett and featuring, among others, Ted Turner, George Soros and Barry Diller, who use their fortunes to clean up America. This was not, as you might suppose, a satire but what Mr Nader called “an exercise in practical Utopianism”. He even met Mr Buffett to urge him to take up the challenge.

Perhaps the Sage of Omaha, as Mr Buffett is known, was listening. On June 16th, with Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, he launched a campaign to persuade America’s billionaires to give away much of their fortunes. They are invited to take the “giving pledge” by writing a public letter promising to donate 50% or more of their wealth. Mr Buffett himself has written the first, which is published on a website, givingpledge.org. He says he will ultimately give away 99% of his wealth, most of which he has already pledged to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Although the letters will not be legally binding, they are intended to create a moral obligation which will be reinforced by peer pressure from others who take the pledge—a bit like members of Alcoholics Anonymous who promise to stay off the booze. …

Celebrity philanthropy: Making one key-stroke too many

May 20th, 2010 | No Comments

A rapper learns what is expected of the modern celanthropist

“THEY took away my Twitter,” moans Wyclef Jean, only half-joking. If anybody thought it was easy to mix success as an entertainer with a saintly image, his recent story is a cautionary tale. “They” refers to an army of PR and marketing professionals hired to restore the Haitian-born musician’s reputation after questions were asked about the management of his charitable foundation, Yele Haiti. And “their” wish to silence him seems understandable. Shortly after he started raising money for victims of the Haiti earthquake in January, a website called Smoking Gun published tax returns from the foundation (three years’ worth were filed on one day last August), showing payments to businesses owned by Wyclef and his partners. After a tearful statement in which he admitted “mistakes” but denied misappropriating funds, he unleashed a barrage of tweets. One said: “My Garage could fit half of the people on twitter why would I steal Charity Money!” And in April, after a surge of gossip about his relationship with the foundation’s vice-president, Zakiya Khatou-Chevassus, he tweeted: “Donkeys spread rumours about me I don’t respond cause I’m the master that leads them to the well to drink the water.” Now, says one of his new advisers, “Wyclef is only allowed to tweet under supervision.”

The professional approach of stars like Bono, Shakira, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has raised the expectations of other celebrities engaged in philanthropy, says Trevor Neilson of the Global Philanthropy Group, which advises a roster of so-called “celanthropists”. “It is no longer enough to turn up on a red carpet and say charitable things. You have to be businesslike.” …

Obtaining Good Public Relations For Philanthropy

December 21st, 2009 | No Comments

Whether you are starting from scratch or seeking to grow an established business, public relations gives you the power to reach your target audience through highly credible, third-party sources. While there are dozens of ways to kick off a successful PR campaign, many businesses overlook the most obvious and close-to-home approach: philanthropy.
Iâ€™m not talking about [...]

What Andre Agassi Can Teach You About Being A Better Person

December 18th, 2009 | No Comments

I just finished reading Andre Agassi’s autobiography titled Open.
I LOVE tennis bios, they are possibly my favorite book genre because I love tennis, but more than playing it, I love following the professional tour and especially the people in the game. For me, it’s the personalities and the human stories that really inspire, hence [...]

I Need Your Help With A New Project â€“ MarkitUp.org Preview

December 16th, 2009 | No Comments

You can check out my latest project and register your interest here – MarkitUp.org.
In 2008 I returned from traveling around the world for eight months, visiting twenty-five amazing cities.
What made this trip particularly remarkable was that I came back with more money in my bank account than I left with, despite living in nice [...]

Dennis Whittle: Good News about Global Giving

July 31st, 2009 | No Comments

The whole global philanthropy report is worth reading, but here are my takeaways.