Philanthropy UK

a project of

Philanthropy UK was set up by the Association of Charitable Foundations in April 2001 as a three-year project. It is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England & Wales.

Project brief

The project brief is to promote new philanthropy, including encouraging the creation of new foundations, in various ways:

Providing a first point of contact for people who may be able to commit substantial resources, helping them to explore strategies and options;

Researching and documenting the motivation and concerns of donorsof significant wealth, leading to a significant publication on this theme;

Providing a second stage of advice to help donors draw on the experience of existing philanthropists and philanthropic organisations (matched according to location, occupation, or cultural and ethnic background);

Providing hard practical information and advice on legal and structural options, tax relief mechanisms, and model governing instruments;

Engaging professional advisers in encouraging philanthropy among suitable clients;

Collecting and publicising relevant statistics, fostering positive articles in the media, promoting further developments in the tax framework as necessary; engaging in public and private discussions, and forging appropriate working links with government and with broader campaigns on charitable giving;

Establishing a ‘connective network’ among organisations active in promoting philanthropy and foundations, thus facilitating sharing of good practice, experience, literature (especially from other countries), and cross-referral of potential donors;

This component of the work developed into a workshop on 31 October 2001 in which over 70 participants shared information on current initiatives to promote philanthropy. This demonstrated the wide range of activities linked by a desire to promote new ways of giving. It was clear that there is a continuing need to share information and this is being facilitated through an email newsletter, available free of charge. It is published every two months and can be downloaded from our website.

Background to the project

Little systematic attention had been paid to the promotion of philanthropy in the UK. The formation of new charitable foundations has been sporadic, times of growth in the 1930s, 1960s and 1970s coinciding with periods when the national economy was strong and when worthwhile tax reliefs were available.

In recent years, useful work has been done through several specialised initiatives (for example the Community Foundation Network, Trusts in Partnership and the UK Charitable Trusts Initiative), while other more broadly based organisations (such as Charities Aid Foundation and ACF itself) have maintained a background awareness and provided some advice and support to would-be settlors and donors. But the combined work had lacked focus and ‘critical mass’, and the organisations are unco-ordinated.

The climate appeared right for a new period of growth in philanthropy. The fast-growing finance and computer/telecommunications industries are producing many individuals of high net wealth. Though often relatively young and with no family or personal tradition of giving, many such people are expressing interest in using part of their wealth for social and public purposes. A growing volume of enquiries is being received at all currently active organisations. Yet there is little capacity for pro-active work, and without a focal point or co-ordinating mechanism, potential settlors and donors cannot easily find clear factual information, advice as to the range of options available, or ‘signposts’ to the organisations that can help them follow through their enthusiasm and make best use of their funds.

Changes in the tax régime introduced from April 2000 are very helpful in encouraging charitable giving, both generally and among individuals of high net wealth. Examples are new income tax reliefs on gifts of shares to charity and on donations made by ‘payroll deduction’ (where the removal of the upper limit now makes possible regular gifts from large salaries and directors’ fees).

In addition the launch of The Giving Campaign, supported with government funding, chaired by Joel Joffe and with the active involvement of CAF and NCVO, emphasises the interest in encouraging giving at all levels.

The focus of the research

A principle of the approach is the need for an understanding of the range and scope of other activities in the field, and, crucially, of the motivations of those who give and those who do not. While there has been extensive research in the US about why the wealthy give, to date little has been published related to UK culture and experience. An integral component of this project is that it should be underpinned by research, and this is being undertaken under the aegis of City University. The brief covers motivation, constraints, attitudes to philanthropy and social responsibility, mechanisms and the desire or otherwise for involvement, cultural and age differences. The results of this work will be published in due course. Interviewees include those who give and those not known to be major donors, as well as those who have experience in soliciting support in a wide range of sectors, and professional advisors to the wealthy.

Current activities

The Project is based at the Association of Charitable Foundations, which is the umbrella and support organisation for existing grant-making trusts and foundations across the UK, with a membership of 300 organisations who between them give over £1.3billion for charitable purposes annually. The Project is overseen by a Steering Group appointed by ACF’s Executive Committee.

The Project Director is Theresa Lloyd, who started in mid-April 2001. Over the next few months, the following activities are in hand:

Editing the email newsletter. This is on a one-year trial basis, with an issue every two months. At the end of the year the effectiveness will be reviewed, and the concept developed in response to feedback and experience;

Developing a set of objective and clear guidelines for would-be donors, covering the range of mechanisms and structures available and the benefits and disadvantages of each method;

Completing the research project: completing the interviews, finalising the framework for analysis (with expert qualitative research input), writing the report;

Working closely with other initiatives such as The Giving Campaign, participating in workshops and conferences as appropriate, in order to share experience, learn from others and ensure minimum risk of duplication. We wish to continue to identify and clarify the key issues which should inform the development of this project, its place among the expanding range of initiatives, and the promotion of philanthropy generally;

Continue to keep in touch with those initiatives and research, through reading, personal networks and meetings;

Presenting the work of Philanthropy UK, and what we are learning, at appropriate meetings.

Underpinning this project is the philosophy that its funders wish to learn from others, to share what they have learned from experience and research, not to duplicate other activities but to complement and reinforce other initiatives.

The ultimate objective is to maximise the return on the sum of investment in the promotion of philanthropy, through effective collaboration, so that there is significant growth in the committed giving, not only through the establishment of charitable foundations, from high net worth individuals to a range of causes.

Would you like to contribute?

If you would like to comment on this project, or propose contacts or literature for review, please contact:

Theresa Lloyd
Director
Philanthropy UK
Tel: 020 7422 8650
Fax: 020 7422 8606

Email: theresalloyd@philanthropyuk.org

Association of Charitable Foundations
2 Plough Yard
Shoreditch High Street
London EC2A 3LP
www.acf.org.uk

June 2002