BRUSSELS

BRUSSELS, July 10, 2009, Associated Press — The European Union said Friday that it was the world's biggest aid donor last year, spending euro12 billion ($16.7 billion) on poorer nations - or about 60 percent of all global aid.

The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), a leading nonprofit organization providing resources and support for people affected by cancer, announced today that it has selected Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR) as its global communications partner in the fight against cancer. Ogilvy PR will work with the LAF to support the expansion of the LIVESTRONG campaign around the world, as unveiled at the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2008.

[Chris Carnie is founder of Factary, Europe’s only consultancy focused on strategic funders — major donors, foundations, companies and government. It operates from bases in Spain, Belgium and the U.K. At the 27th International Fundraising Congress, which took place in the Netherlands last week, Chris and colleague Martine Godefroid presented a session titled Major Donors — The Personal View. Here, he presents a synopsis of that session.] It’s hard to start a major-donor program if you don’t know what a major donor looks like. That’s why we invited a philanthropist and an advisor to philanthropic families to give us their personal views at last