IslamicFinance.de

The global coronavirus crisis has exacerbated existing inequalities and laid bare the fissures in our societies. If philanthropic actors were able to ignore this state of affairs before, they no longer can. If we are to first survive, then thrive, we can no longer afford to shy away from supporting radical changes in the world. "The Role of Philanthropy in Society" study demonstrates the transformative potential of philanthropy. The study reveals a charitable impulse that is rooted historically and culturally in all of the countries in the study. Funding for progressive work does exist, but is limited. In all of these countries it has traditionally come from foreign funders. One of the major developments in emerging market countries has been the rise of corporate philanthropy. Common to all country papers emerging from the study is a mistrust of NGOs by donors who see civil society as unaccountable. Individual giving holds promise, as well as community philanthropy.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) and Campden Wealth published the report "Global Trends and Strategic Time Horizons in Family Philanthropy 2020". The report is based on a survey of 201 families of significant wealth who are engaged in philanthropic giving. According to the report, education is the top cause families give to globally, constituting 29% of the average philanthropic portfolio, followed by health at 14%, and the arts, culture and sports at 10%. Just 8% of giving goes towards the environment global concern for climate change. According to Dr. Rebecca Gooch, Director of Research at Campden Wealth, we are in the early stages of a significant transition in which vast sums of wealth are changing hands between generations. The emerging generation is acutely aware of the largescale global challenges it will face, such as climate change.

The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education (AGFE) has appointed Dr. Sonia Ben Jaafar as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ben Jaafar’s experience in the education development sector spans over 20 years in Canada, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Her leadership roles working on major educational development projects include engagement with the American Institute of Research, Ericsson, UNESCO, UNICEF, and War Child UK. His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair said that her commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning makes her an excellent addition to the AGFE team.

Crowdfunding markets have experienced a severe growth in recent years; however, this was mostly among non-philanthropic platforms. Philanthropic crowdfunding builds on a large group of individuals each donating a small amount online. Worldwide, philanthropic crowdfunding fulfills a small role, since only 15% of the total amount raised through crowdfunding is raised through philanthropic crowdfunding. The global crowdfunding activity mostly exists out of platforms from the United States, Asia and Europe. The US has the largest percentage of philanthropic crowdfunding projects. China focusses mostly on reward-based crowdfunding. In Europe the largest crowdfunding markets are the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Crowdfunding is not yet a growing industry in every region, with decreasing market-values among European-based platforms.

Members of European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee discussed creating a European space for donors and fostering cross-border giving. The debate was entitled 'Single Market for Philanthropy – Helping unlock the potential for public good across Europe' and saw the emergence of a cross-party alliance between Greens, Renew, EPP and S&D. To create a European space for donors, MEPs Sven Giegold and Sergey Lagodinsky discussed a potential proposal for a 29th regime of a 'European public benefit statute'. Regulatory tax barriers, affecting cross-border philanthropy within the EU, currently undermine this. The Romanian Council Presidency issued an EESC opinion on Philanthropy, calling on the EU to promote organised philanthropy, and asking for elimination of barriers within the internal market.

The European Union has rules implementing a single market for for-profit activities while nonprofit, philanthropic activities lack any comparable system. There is increasingly a 'closing space' for civil society organizations engaged in cross-border activities. The legal barriers to cross-border philanthropy represent complex issues in Europe, especially since they reflect the larger division over the extent of European integration and union. Addressing them therefore requires diligence, creativity, and an appreciation of the larger political context. The European organizations have all of these characteristics.
It is their efforts that have led to growing support for philanthropy, as demonstrated most recently by the European Philanthropy Manifesto and the European Economic and Social Committee’s opinion on 'European philanthropy: an untapped potential'.

A group of wealthy Americans have written an open letter to the 2020 presidential candidates in support of a wealth tax. The letter is signed by 20 individuals including philanthropist George Soros, Facebook’s co-founder Chris Hughes, Disney heiress Abigail Disney and Blue Haven Initiative co-founders Liesel Pritzker Simmons and Ian Simmons. The group outlined six key reasons why they are in favour of a wealth tax, including using it to fight climate crisis, boosting the economy, improving public health and strengthening freedom and democracy. While the letter refers to arguments against a wealth tax, the signatories claim these are mostly technical and often overstated. The letter further shows that polls indicate that higher taxes for the wealthy is politically popular.

The United Nations Refugee Agency has launched a new global structure that transforms UNHCR’s existing Zakat programme into a global fund. UNHCR unveiled its 'UNHCR Zakat Program: 2019 Launch Report', which shows that global Zakat giving stands at $76 billion worldwide, and could potentially reach an amount as high as $356 billion. According to Houssam Chahine, UNHCR’s Head of Private Sector Partnerships, it was inevitable for the Zakat program to evolve into a structure that better appeals to the global Islamic finance industry. The Fund allows UNHCR to be even more transparent. The decision to restructure the Zakat program into the global Refugee Zakat Fund is due to the high donor turnout UNHCR has witnessed in the past years.

Religion-based philanthropy entails sharing and assistance activities conducted without discrimination between ethnicity, religion or race. In Indonesia it is increasingly common for philanthropic agencies to collaborate and develop interfaith partnerships to carry out humanitarian missions in conflict and disaster areas. For example, The Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation assists the community of pesantren and builds housing for Muara Angke residents, who are predominantly Muslim. The catholic Karina Foundation develops emergency response and disaster risk reduction programs. Islamic Philanthropy Institutions such as Dompet Dhuafa, Lazismu, Rumah Zakat, PKPU, Aksi Cepat Tanggap, Wahid Institute, also work together and readily help non-Muslim communities. Interfaith philanthropy is especially important in the current environment in which the unity of Indonesia is under attack by religious separatists. Many institutions collaborate on running programs. Through collaboration, suspicion can be minimized and the programs can be run optimally.