A new report published by the Forum
on Philanthropy and Fundraising recommends the establishemnt of a Social
Innovation Fund to help transform Irish Philanthropy and Fundraising.The Forum proposes to create a Social Fund of a significant size (starting at €10m+) to support the establishment and growth of social innovations with the potential for transformative impact on critical social issues facing Ireland, including unemployment and the environment.
The report also contains three other recommendations that will be
implemented in the next four years:
- A
National “Giving Campaign”- aimed at the public, high net worth individuals and
corporates in Ireland to increase their giving.
- Improving
the fiscal environment and incentivising greater giving.
- Developing
better fundraising capacity, education and training among not-for-profits.
Speaking at the launch on 4 July, the Taoiseach said “The Forum on
Philanthropy and Fundraising is very much a public private partnership,
bringing together as it does the major philanthropies, Fundraising groups and
the relevant Government Departments and Agencies, to help shape and refine a
strategy to develop Philanthropy and Fundraising and increase the investment in
good causes in Ireland. While the impetus for this initiative has come
from the not for profit sector, my Government is more than happy to support and
help to drive this important initiative”.
Chairman of the Forum, Frank Flannery said “The Forum on
Philanthropy has set out a target to increase philanthropic giving in Ireland
from around €500m per annum to €800m by 2016. We realise to many people this
sounds like an ambitious target, especially given the current economic
environment and the demands on people’s pockets. Nonetheless we have identified
significant scope for growth in Irish charitable donations and believe that
this transformation is possible.
“We are very fortunate in this country to have such a
strong support for the whole notion of helping and support for worthwhile
causes. That support from Government, voluntary organisations and citizens will
be vital to our success. Having studied what can be done in other
countries and the structures proposed here, we believe this growth is entirely
achievable.”
Gerry Salole CEO European Foundation Centre said “The
Forum’s commitment, in the depth of an economic recession, to establish a
national giving campaign, to incentivise and facilitate citizens giving, to
improve the skill set of non profits, and especially, the refreshing public-
private partnership represented by the national social innovation fund reflects
the cutting edge of philanthropic practice. Ireland has raised the bar
and is surely setting a marker that should be emulated elsewhere in Europe at
this critical time”.
The Forum has identified a number of areas that can be
improved on; for example, only 15% of donors in Ireland give in a regular
planned fashion compared to 36% in the UK. The Forum also points to the
benefits of this more structured approach, by encouraging a system of planned
donations which are on average five times larger than spontaneous donations.
Despite the current economic climate, the Forum has
determined that there is still significant potential to increase the amount of
money raised – between 2009 and 2010 the amount of money raised by charities
actually increased by 23% (6% if overseas development charities are excluded).
The report is available here.