The Funding Network: Welcome to the Dragon’s Den of charity December 18, 2014 This philanthropic gameshow comes with a serious message for the thousands of people it helps. ‘Linda 100”, “Michael 200”, “Fred 500”, the shouts echo across the room as more and more people put their hands in the air. As the cries die down, the pledge leader urges them on: “Was that another hand at the [...]
City of London Lord Mayor Alan Yarrow reveals his charity plans December 18, 2014 New Lord Mayor of the City of London Alan Yarrow has set his sights on raising funds for Mencap and Scope – two charities close to his heart. I am honoured to be The Lord Mayor of the City of London. Amongst a raft of business and civic duties, my wife Gilly and I are [...]
City A.M. has raised millions for good causes over the years December 18, 2014 City A.M. is no stranger to philanthropy, and has achieved some impressive results through its charity appeals. For its first appeal, launched in 2011, it chose Opportunity International, a charity which provides microfinance loans for thousands of enterprising Africans who want to start their own business. City A.M.’s initial ambitious target was £250,000, but ultimately [...]
The digital revolution: How technology is changing charity December 18, 2014 How technology is changing the face of the charitable sector, one bucket of ice at a time. Go back in time a few months and you’ll see millions of people, including hundreds of the world’s richest, most powerful men and women, drenching themselves with buckets of ice. From Mark Zuckerberg to Bill Gates; Anna Wintour [...]
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – No. 1 December 18, 2014 USA – £2.169bn In a game of word association, most people on hearing the name Bill Gates would immediately say Microsoft. Yet with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation having already given away a staggering £20bn since its 2000 foundation, it’s a safe bet that in a couple of decades time, the charity will be [...]
Wellcome Trust – No.2 December 18, 2014 UK – £581.5m Victorian masturbation manuals and copulating bull elephants may seem unlikely items for philanthropic support, but both feature in the latest exhibition put on by the Wellcome Trust. Its exhibition space – the Wellcome Collection – is currently showing The Institute of Sexology, which looks at the science of sex and the [...]
Novamedia / Postcode Lotteries – No.3 December 18, 2014 Netherlands – £470.3m For a Postcode Lottery player their address could be the luckiest thing that ever happened to them. Anyone who wants to play provides their postcode which then becomes their ticket number. Using the postcode means it’s not just one participant who wins a prize, but all the players in an entire street [...]
La Caixa Foundation – No.4 December 18, 2014 Spain – £309m La Caixa Foundation’s chairman Isidro Faine likes to quote the words of assassinated senator Robert Kennedy to describe the Spanish bank’s attitude to charity. “Senator, Robert F. Kennedy, once said ‘the future is not a gift; it’s an achievement'. These words remind us that our efforts in the present will determine [...]
Silicon Valley Community Foundation – No.5 December 18, 2014 USA – £231.8m It seems surprising that the area surrounding San Francisco Bay in northern California – arguably the world’s supreme entrepreneurial hotspot – is in need of charitable assistance. Yet despite the wealth of some in Silicon Valley thanks to the hi-tech giants and start-ups, there are also what Silicon Valley Community Foundation [...]
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – No.6 December 18, 2014 USA – £230.9m When General Johnson spoke everybody listened. I think there's a direct translation from the kind of standards the general had at the company to what you see in the Robert Johnson foundation,” says Johnson & Johnson's former chief financial officer Robert Campbell, now a trustee for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [...]
