Silvia Bastante de Unverhau of UBS previews the UBS Philanthropy Compass, a new tool that will help philanthropists be more impactful using a structured, personal approach. UBS will launch the guide at WINGSForum in Istanbul next week.

By Silvia Bastante de Unverhau

At UBS we have made a commitment to provide the necessary tools and advice for clients to use their wealth for positive social impact. One of the tools we have developed in order to fulfil that commitment is the UBS Philanthropy Compass.

The UBS Philanthropy Compass is a handbook that helps clients to become impactful philanthropists. It is a step by step guide for building a personal philanthropic approach and can be used as an advisory working tool and a discussion starter. The Philanthropy Compass was developed by UBS and  the UBS Optimus Foundation, in partnership with FSG, a leading consulting firm specialised in social sector topics, and CASS Business School in London, an academic leader in the field of philanthropy research.

The Philanthropy Compass guides the reader through the multiple building blocks of philanthropic activity, provides practical examples of successful philanthropic endeavours, and addresses questions like how to create change, how to plan one’s own philanthropy, how to implement it, as well as how to engage with others. The Philanthropy Compass helps to structure thinking and formulate a personal and preferred approach to philanthropy.

Christine W. Letts, the Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School recently said about the Philanthropy Compass:

The UBS Philanthropy Compass is truly an extraordinary resource. It raises the practical questions that philanthropists need to ask as well as prompting some of the less obvious considerations that they may encounter. The guide also helps them to come to conclusions relevant to their unique situation.  It draws from and improves on many of the frameworks developed over the years.  Having it all in one place as a handy reference is such a value to the philanthropy field and to individual philanthropists.

Dr Peter Grant, Senior Fellow in Grantmaking, Philanthropy and Social Investment from the Cass Business School in London, added:

The UBS Philanthropy Compass is an outstanding resource for all those with an interest in ‎philanthropy or social investment. Philanthropy involves a series of choices – not just what or who to fund, but how to go about it. The inter-relation between these choices is complex and often not well understood either by potential philanthropists or their advisors. The UBS Philanthropy Compass has been devised not to be prescriptive about what choices a potential philanthropist should take but to clarify the outcomes each choice will have. It is designed as a practical tool for stimulating discussion on key issues.

UBS wants to play an important role in developing best practice in the philanthropy sector. It is in this spirit that we are sharing the Philanthropy Compass and hope that it can be a valuable resource to advisors, philanthropists and other players in the philanthropy sector for whom WINGS is an important network. Therefore we see WINGSForum in Istanbul as a perfectly appropriate platform for us to share and exchange this knowledge, and we are looking forward to opening valuable discussions with other sector participants.

Silvia Bastante de Unverhau is Head of Philanthropy Advisory for Philanthropy & Values-Based Investing at UBS. From 27-29 March, diverse actors from the world of philanthropy will converge on Istanbul for WINGSForum 2014: The Power of Networks to discuss emerging trends and other issues important to the sector. UBS will launch the Global Philanthropy Compass at the event. Follow on Twitter with #WFnetworks.