Philanthropy in Transition

Abstract

The already vibrant charitable sector in the US is in the midst of a transformation that is altering both the manner in which donations occur and the causes that are supported. Philanthropy in Transition examines the unique role that charitable giving has played in the US, from colonial times to the present. The rising importance of new means of contributing, particularly giving through buying or investing, is considered. These new models of philanthropy have expanded the ways by which ethical consumers or investors can support a cause. Although these innovations represent a revolution in the structure of philanthropy, they introduce significant complexity to the act of giving-donors are far removed from recipients-and this may weaken the impact of contributing. This transformation is also likely to accelerate the rising importance of web-based promotion and fund-raising, as traditional nonprofits compete with social market enterprises and social impact investments for funds. Mark S. LeClair teaches international trade, international finance, and regional economic development. He is the Chair of the Master of Public Administration program and the Roger M. Lynch Chair in Economics at Fairfield University, USA. He has authored several academic articles over the past decade.

Finance or philanthropy? Exploring the motivations and criteria of impact investors

“…The market for impact investments is rapidly coalescing (Bugg-Levine and Emerson, 2011). The pool of capital devoted to such investments has increased at a rate of 20 per cent per year -one of the fastest growing investment classes -and there is now US$60bn in impact investments (LeClair, 2014). By 2025, it is estimated that such investments could surpass US$2tn (GIIN, 2016).…”

The Great Recession and charitable giving

“…While several studies have examined aggregate trends in giving around this time period (LeClair, 2014;Melkote, 2015;Reich and Wimer, 2012), there are shortcomings to the approaches these analyses take. Those using IRS data are limited to donors who itemize deductions on their tax returns, about 30 percent of households, most of them high income (Greenberg, 2016) though itemizers account for most of the dollar value of giving.…”