One month ago Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet created the ‘Giving Pledge’ in a hope to get US billionaires to donate over half their money to charity. Melissa A Berman (president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy advisors) explores what the impact of this pledge will be in this month’s phialnthropy|uk:quarterly. While she concedes there have been many examples of philanthropists donating the vast proportion of their wealth in the past, she argues this pledge has two unique features. The first concerns the timing of the pledge and the argument that as awareness of philanthropy has grown, the conditions are right to galvanize those with significant resources. The second relates to what she coins the ‘peers community’, where those who participate in the pledge will be able to meet and gain inspiration from each other, encouraging research into programmes and higher donations.
To read more visit the Philanthropy UK website.
