Via Business Insider:
They [donors] are flexing philanthropic muscle at a younger age than their predecessors. At many top business schools, students are integrating the practice of philanthropy into education early on, and donors are often beginning to share substantial wealth long before accumulating the full measure of it.
New Generation Of Philanthropists Is Changing Everything - Business Insider
Points:
- “…the whole Wall Street crisis caused business schools to reevaluate their own priorities and tell a different story. It's okay to make money -- but also, give back.”
- “…donors are not waiting to get to retirement age to start thinking about philanthropy, but are making it a much more meaningful part of their lives earlier than previous generations.”
- “Dozens of MBA and undergraduate business programs now offer philanthropy studies, either as part of course work or in distinct degree programs.”
- “Corporate giving has become more of a strategic function, which means it is to be directed by the company's interests and not by the personal preferences of top management.”
- “The numbers show that philanthropy has hovered between about 1.8% and 2.3% of GDP, according to the Congressional Research Service and other sources. That would mean the enormous gifts made by Gates and Buffett have not released a torrent of largess that has changed the scale and impact of philanthropy.”
- “When I was in my 20s, those who wanted a professional degree and wanted to change the world and weren't sure how that would happen went to law school. Today, if you want to change the world but aren't sure how, you're more likely to consider business school."
Ponder: As much as the media breathlessly reports billionaires’ and celebrities’ charitable giving, the article makes these points about the true backbone of philanthropy:
It's not surprising that philanthropy has not gone up as a percentage of GDP, says Kim Meredith, executive director of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, since most giving -- 71% -- comes from individuals. "I think you see these levels of consistency, and that is because for Middle America and lower-income America, their income has not gone up, and they are the people giving the gifts," she says.
Moreover, adds the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors' Berman, "if you think about the amount of wealth lost in the last economic downturn [along] with persistently high unemployment, the fact that giving has not plummeted is just remarkable."
Read more: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=3234#ixzz2SKEWI7vj
