ET Awards: The future of philanthropy

After a decade of extraordinary and entrepreneurial wealth creation, it is now time for India Inc to face the hard question: is it giving back enough to society? This is the fourth in a series of stories that explores the changing face of Global and Indian philanthropy

Global Giving 2.0

Philanthropy is no longer as simple and uncomplicated as it has always been. It’s acquiring multiple hues, is evolving rapidly, has found new, compelling evangelists, and is being applied and practiced to push disruptive and exponential social change. Naren Karunakaran identifies four trends that will characterise global philanthropy this decade

1. New legislation, regulation and rules will emerge

In addition to altering and channelling giving practices, legislation — facilitating, at times coercive — will throw up a whole new set of organisations at the intersection of the public, private and social sectors. We will see the emergence of ‘the fourth sector’. A new breed of cos certified as B-Corporations in the US use the power of business to solve social and environmental challenges.

Total no. certified so far: 369
Revenues: $1.82b

2. The Giving Pledge

An effort by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and their ilk to invite the wealthiest in the US to commit a significant portion of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Facebook co-founders Dustin Moskovitz and Mark Zuckerberg are the newest and youngest billionaires to sign in. Zuckerberg’s net worth is estimated at $6.9 billion. After a recent trip to China, the promoters of the pledge are expected to be in India early this year

3. A collaborative approach to philanthropy

Alliances and networks will be the order of the day as more and more philanthropic money is channelled into such initiatives with a much wider impact. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for instance, is a prime member of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation ( GAVI Alliance). Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), another global network, is one more example

No. of deaths prevented till 2009: 5.4m
Children immunised with GAVI-funded vaccines: 257m
Donations secured so far 150 m of 230 m needed
New treatments to be delivered by 2014: 6-8
No. of partners: 120

4. Impact investing is expected to surpass plain vanilla philanthropy

Impact investments aim to address social and environmental problems while generating financial profits. It’s being seen as an emerging asset class.

Potential money to flow through for impact investing : $500billion - $1trillion