Philanthropy:

cent years has under gone a sea change.
O billionaires from around the world are pumping
ch more money into charity than ever before with the hope
of solving the immediate problems of our times and changing
the face of society, hopefully in their lifetimes.

As with anything, discussion is essential for progress. Events
such as the Forbes 400 Summits bring the philanthropists and
social entrepreneurs of the world together to ponder over the

problems being faced by humanity and how to overcome them.

Warren Butfet, chairman-CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is one
who has been most forthright in his opinion that we should try
to solve today's problems rather than next century's. According
to him, as reported by Forbes: “| don’t know the important
issues necessarily 50 years from now. | do know what | consider
the important issues now. And | know some terrific people
who operate in those fields. Everything | have will be spent
within 10 years after the closing of my estate. There will always
be plenty of philanthropists in 10, 20, 50, 100 years from now.
They can look at the problems of that day and the people of
that day and pick out the best managers.” Buffet’s argument is
not only pragmatic, but it also brings to the forefront that true
philanthropists don’t believe in mere funding, but have solid
plans to do something.

Melinda Gates, one of the world’s most influential
philanthropists, is in agreement. She has found that today,
women account for the highest percentage of victims of
almost all global issues related to health, social status, hunger,

 

  

violence, and poverty. She chose to become the voice of
women and girls, and is investing billions to bring women out
of their miseries everywhere on the planet. In an interview with
Forbes, she said that to end poverty, women and girls need

to be put at the centre of charity focus. The same interview
reported that Melinda, along with her husband Bill Gates,

has $41.3 billion in endowment, which the pair can position

in any way they deem fit. And with so much power, Gates is
emphasizing women’s empowerment.

Philanthropy is, these days, no longer restricted to running
schools and hospitals. Philanthropists now recognize that it

is more valuable to help bring the poorest of the poor above
the poverty line, so that they can feed themselves and their
families and afford education and healthcare. In countries like
India, which has the second highest number of billionaires in
Asia, the government has made it mandatory for industries
and corporate businesses to spend two per cent of their
profits on corporate social responsibility (CSR). To humanity's
credit, the overwhelming response that has gone beyond the
mandatory law, with some companies giving more than the
stipulated percentage. It is expected that about $20 billion will
be collected every year for the social causes. Deval Sanghavi,
founder-partner of Indian philanthropy foundation Dasra is
hopeful that once the CSR mechanism falls into place, and
areas of funding are identified, businesses and other funders
will focus on long-term strategies. At present in Asia—other
than education and health care—sanitation, hunger, and water