Making the World a Better Place

Introduction

This discussion paper is in light of the successful inaugural launch of the Fortune Forum Summit event, held on 26^th September 2006. The nature of charity giving is changing and one of the innovations have been the rise of philanthropy that is outsourced as more and more rich people seek to put their wealth to good use.

According to Forbes’ Magazine Rich List for 2005, the world now boasts 691 billionaires, 388 of them self-made, compared with 423 in 1996. We know that with increasing wealth, there will be more people turning to philanthropy and outsourcing. However, the question is how we can make it beneficial overall for humanity.

The growing enthusiasm of the rich for philanthropy, together with their determination to see their money used to better effect, has prompted talk of a new “golden age of philanthropy”. But much remains to be done before today's beneficent billionaires can claim to follow in the footsteps of such giants of giving as Carnegie, Rockefeller and Rowntree.

Three reasons for getting involved

Let me briefly state the three reasons which brought me to the world of philanthropy:

1) Working for the world’s poor (3 billion living on $2 a day), stopping the impact of global warming (our planet faces violent storms and severe water shortages), making progress in halting the onslaught of deadly diseases (some 30 million people die of preventable diseases, including AIDS/HIV, malaria and cancer) and helping to remove fences and barriers for people to live together in a divided but shrinking world of globalisation.

2) The realization that these challenges are interrelated and not stand alone threats. To be tackled, we need to bring leaders, entrepreneurs, captains of industry and NGOs together to act in a concerted way for the benefit of all.

3) The urgency to do it now. Encourage the culture of giving, take actions in a collective way, and save the planet.

The Fortune Forum event

It all started with Renu Mehta and myself writing the plan for the first Fortune Forum event which included the themes of eliminating global poverty, halting climate change and stopping the onslaught of deadly diseases.

The event was an historic evening of spectacular entertainment and inspiration to fund the projects which can transform our world. It brought leaders, musicians and activists together to highlight the causes.

Former US President Bill Clinton made an urgent call for action to tackle the pressing issues of global poverty, environmental sustainability and worldwide health to a glittering array of influential entrepreneurs, captains of industry, global leaders, media moguls and celebrity activists. Michael Douglas, actor and UN Messenger for Peace, made the stunning presentation.

The work of the British Red Cross, African Renaissance, WaterAid and Alliance for a New Humanity were showcased side by side on a shared platform to highlight these global issues which co-exist. These formidable organisations are working to actively find solutions to the most defining challenges of our time. The campaigning of which cannot be accomplished by one nation or one organisation alone.

The evening raised awareness for and funded many projects including emergency aid relief, notably buying ambulances for the British Red Cross, purchasing tree planting for African Renaissance, providing clean water projects for WaterAid.

The event inspired and engaged exceptional individuals and corporations to become drivers of social change, to compliment the work of major charities and governments in a powerful way.

The Fortune Forum stimulated a culture of giving by influencing philanthropic habits so that a new generation of heroes, alongside the great philanthropists, can harness personal and material resources that can ensure a sustainable future.

We have produced a road-map – the Fortune Forum Code - For a Sustainable Future, written by the author Vijay Mehta. The Code outlines challenges/ ideas of how to eliminate global poverty, halt climate change and stop the onslaught of deadly diseases. This book is being distributed nationwide.

The event made a huge impact on the world philanthropic scene. We were regularly in the press and media for a month and CNN in their Global Office program highlighted our event under the subject of global philanthropy. One can be a victim of its own success as we are in the process of planning our next even which we hope will be as big or better.

In a way, our event is a sort of outsourcing as we collected the funds for nominated charities who in turn are ploughing funds in designated areas that is in providing ambulances for emergency relief, investing in tree planting for sustainable development, installing water pumps in remote areas and making fresh water available for drinking and cooking.

Philanthropy can be defined in a broader way, as society’s mechanism for addressing the threats and challenges which emerge around us in the world. By using best practices, it creates a better future for our society by planting seeds of change.

Outsourcing philanthropy at best can be described as bringing chunks of money to organisations, who can operate at a much larger scale creating a greater impact in the most efficient way, benefiting the maximum number of people. It leaves the responsibility of finding best people and projects with the foundation to whom the money has been given. By doing so, it is hoped that outsourcing will break new grounds.

Lets take the example of Warren Buffet. He donated $37 billion to the already rich Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, making one of the biggest foundations in the world. However, Buffet made his gift conditional on Gates giving up his day job at Microsoft and him becoming a trustee of the Foundation. It has started a chain reaction in which growing number of rich people would give similar gifts such as founders of Ebay and Google. The advantage of this outsourcing is that the Gates Foundation will eventually have assets worth over $60 billion and thus will have more influence, and resources to eradicate disease and poverty in the developing world.

In the olden times, Carnegie, the great provider of public libraries and Rockefeller had a huge impact in the areas of education and health. Rockefeller raised the quality of training doctor in America and found a vaccine for yellow fever. It also drove the “green revolution” in agriculture that ended famine in much of the world and, by some estimates, saved 1.5 billion lives – the sort of impact that the Gateses hope to achieve.

A more recent innovation has been the cooperation between foundations to advance philanthropy. The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are making a $150 million investment to help improve agricultural development in Africa. The partnership, called the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), intents to address both farming and relevant economic issues, including soil fertility, irrigation, farmer access to markets and financing. This demonstrates the value of working cooperatively in advancing our common interests.

Another example of outsourcing is Ted Turner, founder of CNN, donating $1 billion to the United Nations (1/3 of his wealth) to start the UN Foundation which works for the world’s poor, for peace, for progress, for human rights and justice. Since 2001, every dollar Ted Turner has put into the UN Foundation has been matched by another dollar contributed by corporations, foundations or tens of thousands of individuals. So the advantages of outsourcing is creating bigger organisations for the benefit of the planet.

b) Finding suitable projects, considering the sheer size of the problems we are trying to solve

Some of the above problems can be solved by creating partnerships with other foundations or governments of countries in which the problems exist.

Even with the Gates Foundation, they have been struggling to find viable projects and organisations which can handle funds to the tune of $10 million. It is hard to find groups able to take that kind of grant money and utilise in a productive way.

Recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave $23 million to help Indian health authorities to fight HIV in India, which has 5.7 million sufferers of the disease. However, the mismanagement of funds is a problem. In Tamil Nadu, India, the bishops of so-called independent churches have been accused in recent weeks of cheating the public of $35 million of Tsunami money which was suppose to be utilised for building houses for the victims of the tragedy.

One has to concede that philanthropy is a tougher game then business and measuring the results can be tricky and take a longer time span.

To improve matters the requirements are better measurements, greater transparency, improved accountability and increasing use of mass marketing and public campaigns for the success of the initiatives. The way forward is to introduce the best techniques from business and ensure that market forces are being given a much bigger role for the running of charities and non-profit social sector.

1. We are having a shared platform of exemplary organisations to showcase their work. This will in turn enhance these organisations’ ability to broaden and deepen their work. Since the event, we have been contacted by many organsations and charities looking for this type of support with the view of advancing their work. At each annual Summit we hope to showcase several new initiatives alongside furthering our alliances with existing partners

2. Our Summit will serve as a prelude to a series of events. Throughout the year the Fortune Forum Club will host private and more focused dinners where Foundation Heads, Captains of Industry, Philanthropists, Global Leaders and celebrity activists can brainstorm innovative strategies and interact to discuss how they can personally and collectively make a difference.

3. We plan to partner with other involved Summit/ Forums to put people in touch with compatible alliances to strategise their commitment so that they become part of a global network and in doing so becoming drivers of social change. We are currently talking to various organisations.

Conclusion

Outsourcing is about larger funders who can have a greater visibility and can make a unique contribution. So in a way we at Fortune Forum are outsourcing already for a new trend for a new generation of philanthropists who can bring energy to the task of reform and improvement. All they need is to bring commitment, compassion and cheque book (3 C’s). No previous generation had a greater opportunity then ours to make significant progress in the promise of fulfilling the culture of giving.

The willingness of so many of the new wealthy to apply part of their fortune to “making the world a better place” is certainly welcome. True, there are questions to be asked about what exactly is motivating them, and whether they are doing the right things to tackle society's problems. Yet philanthropy, free of the short-term pressures from voters and shareholders that constrain governments and for-profit companies, may be one of the best hopes for solving problems such as the spread of AIDS, poverty and climate change.

The full version of this speech can be downloaded from:

VM Peace www.vmpeace.org