Global trends in charitable giving — one step forward and two steps back

For the latest annual CIVICUS report on the state of civil society, Adam Pickering (Charities Aid Foundation) compares positive and negative trends in global giving following the latest World Giving Index. “In the same way that democracy has value to society above and beyond the policies of the governments it elects, civil society should be about more than the outputs it produces.”

Investing in infrastructure — What really matters?

In this Alliance article from 2004, Andrew Milner sources organizations from around the world, putting into historical perspective the importance and evolution of philanthropy infrastructure. “Has the growth of this infrastructure kept pace with that of civil society? If not, what are its weaknesses? Alliance put these questions to a number civil society professionals in different regions and asked which elements had been important for the development of civil society in their part of the world.”

CAF publishes 2014 World Giving Index

Jane Arnott (CAF) shares key findings from the recently published 2014 World Giving Index, which illustrates fluctuations in global giving in recent years. Arnott notes that “although the desire to give in support of others crosses cultural differences, government incentives to give and public trust in civil society vary hugely between nations”.

By trying to control civil society, the Egyptian government could fuel more social unrest

“Civil society is the vehicle by which citizens can represent themselves, either by forming organisations, participating in campaigns, donating money or volunteering. It offers an opportunity for grass-roots movements to grow and provides a constructive channel for social tensions to be turned into reasoned and targeted dialogue with government. The leaders in Egypt have repeatedly failed to recognise that the campaigning of not-for-profits plays an important role as a pressure gauge that can release dissent in a manageable way.” Article by Adam Pickering.

Philanthropy in Russia — an insider’s view

In the latest in a series on charity and philanthropy in BRIC countries, Maria Chertok (CAF Russia) reports on current trends. “Russian society traditionally has been suspicious of people with wealth, and that fact has direct implications for the foundations that have been set up by the so-called oligarchs mentioned in Joan Spero’s report.”

Russia—historic growth in private giving

The global philanthropy community will honour the life and work of Olga Alexeeva at a special awards ceremony at WINGSForum 2014 in Istanbul on 27 March. Alexeeva’s unwavering dedication to philanthropy is shown in this essay on giving in Russia for Philanthropy Impact Magazine. “There are numerous challenges to this historic growth of private and corporate giving that Russia experiences today.”

January eNews: Women In Philanthropy

This month we explore one of six plenaries for WINGSForum—women in philanthropy. We look at regional cross border trade, philanthropy during national transitions, and the impact of women’s rights movements, along with new articles from Barbara Ibrahim, Ruth Jones, and CAF’s Adam Pickering. We also take a special look at gender and agency in Africa…

2013 World Giving Index shows potential of charitable giving in emerging economies

Since 2008 the proportion of Indian citizens giving money to charity has increased by 14%: India now has more people (244 million) regularly donating to charity than any other country on earth. According to the 2013 World Giving Index, many developing nations are seeing huge increases in the proportion of people engaging in charitable giving. Regional Highlights is one of four programme tracks for concurrent sessions for WINGS Forum 2014: The Power of Networks.

Charities Aid Foundation, Give2Asia respond to Yolanda

We’re happy to report that several organisations in the network are helping to facilitate Typhoon Yolanda relief efforts. WINGS network participant Give2Asia has opened the Typhoon Yolanda Recovery Fund and is working in the field to help with relief, and WINGS member Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is encouraging CAF America Fund Holders to donate online…

Participating in a global community helps you innovate locally

The Global Philanthropy Forum, a community of nearly 1,800 donors and social investors, has held its 2013 conference in the middle of April in San Francisco. The event focused on debating ongoing issues like hunger, disease, joblessness and slavery, and how the digital revolution allows philanthropy to target its interventions with greater precision and innovate more than ever. Article by Paula Jancso Fabiani.