Philanthropy the ‘Go-to Partner for Risk’

Philanthropy is now on the scale the likes of which the world has never seen.

Community/Politics: Helping the most vulnerable through philanthropic efforts has become incredibly advanced in the last decade, with the tools of technology, the power or human connection, systems and collaboration proving that the smartest person in the room is the collective.

Two prime examples of strategic philanthropy, with a focus on alleviating the suffering of the poorest, are the world’s wealthiest private foundation with an endowment of nearly US$40 billion, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the foundation that recently celebrated its centennial year, started by one of the founding fathers of philanthropy, Rockefeller.

Both foundations have successfully broken down the barriers between the private and the social sector, filling niches governments could not or would not address. Both have played a leading role in addressing international health concerns, infectious disease control and eradication, and both foundations have dealt with a healthy dose of controversy.

Philanthropy the ‘Go-to Partner for Risk’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/ | By Jamie Joseph | January 29, 2014