Next-Generation Philanthropy: Changing the World Study Released

Press release (Sept. 18, 2012) — Forbes Insights announced the findings of a new study, Next Generation Philanthropy: Changing the World, sponsored by Credit Suisse Group, as part of the Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy. This summer, in an unprecedented gathering of wealth and international philanthropy, Forbes brought together 150 billionaires and near-billionaires, including keynote speakers Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey, for a private discussion of ways to help solve the world's most intractable problems. The peer exchange, which focused on greater collaboration, sharing of best practices and up-front education, helped advance the conversation around philanthropy on a global level.

The gathering may also lead to fundamental shifts in how the world's most influential philanthropists carry out their charitable efforts. Key themes that emerged included:

• These billionaire philanthropists, in contrast to previous generations, expect to see the results of their philanthropy in their lifetime and have less interest in leaving a legacy.
• An increasing number of them are willing to partner, with people like themselves, with corporations or with the recipients to ensure greater effectiveness.
• They are willing to be venture-like in their giving, viewing the philanthropic investments as risk capital. Moreover, they are willing to take risks, fail and learn from the experience in order to be more effective over time.
• They plan on giving their money away over a short time frame — more than half of respondents at the summit have set a time horizon of less than 10 years to see a return on their philanthropic investments.

Following the summit, the Forbes Insights study was launched to better understand how high net worth individuals across the globe pursue their philanthropic goals. Among the key findings, the study revealed:

• Giving is alive and well. 54 percent of all respondents say they will leave more than 25 percent of their assets to charity. Nearly half (46 percent) of those with more than $20 million in investable assets plan to leave half or more of their assets to charity; nearly 1 in 5 of those with over $50 million in investable assets plan to leave 100 percent of their assets to charity.
• A Business-Like Approach to Giving. 53 percent of all respondents agree with the statement, "I find applying my business experience to my philanthropy is an effective and successful approach to giving." This rises to 61 percent among those who are at the more than $20 million level. More of them partner with businesses (40 percent) for their philanthropic endeavors than with government agencies (22 percent) or other nonprofits (28 percent).
• Taxes, U.S. Elections and Giving. Most (56 percent) feel that tax policy impacts their charitable giving. 64 percent believe the elections will impact tax policies, while 50 percent believe the elections will impact the climate for philanthropy.

"Forbes was pleased to partner with Credit Suisse to launch this philanthropy study and share new insights into the motivations, risk profile and effectiveness of high net worth individuals who want to have a tangible impact on affecting change," said Forbes Media President and CEO Mike Perlis.