Wealthy Philanthropists Undeterred by Recession, Look for Charitable Impact

Although many charities are focusing their outreach efforts on engaging a younger generation of philanthropists, the wealthy demographic represents a powerful resource for sustaining charities through the economic downturn, a recent survey found.

Titled “Tomorrow’s Philanthropist,” the report was conducted by Ledbury Research in partnership with Barclays Wealth, and surveyed exclusively high net worth individuals - responses were culled from 500 people with investable assets of more than $1 million and 150 people with assets of more than $5 million.

The report found that wealthy individuals have largely retained their focus on philanthropy despite the recession. Many wealthy individuals reported that they consider philanthropy a "key expense" and would sooner cut back on comforts than reduce donations - 77 percent said they would not decrease their level of giving as a result of the recession.

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NOTE: BETF Director Tayo Ibikunle is leading our initiative to seek support from BDPA members that may be high net-worth individuals like the folks in this article. The results in the Tomorrow's Philanthropist research paper are encouraging to us.

What are you thoughts?

50 and Older May be the Golden Years of Philanthropy

By Jenna Weiner

When it comes to volunteering and philanthropy, older generations are outpacing their younger counterparts, according to a recent survey from the Hartford Financial Services Group.

The study found that 53 percent of people aged 50 and older participate in volunteer work, compared to 45 percent for people aged 49 and younger.

Read the full Daily Tell article here.

Twittering for a cause: Web 2.0 and its philanthropic impact

Facebook may have just reached the 250 million user mark, but Twitter is the real media darling.

From news coverage to business marketing and back to the personal stories that launched it, the many uses of Twitter have revolutionized the way society thinks about communicating, 140 words at a time.

Twitter’s newest incarnation, according to TechCrunch, is philanthropy.

While the Washington Post reports that Facebook’s version of social media philanthropy - the Causes application - has received less than stellar financial results, Twitter philanthropy (or "tweetraising") has already provided promising returns.

The power of Twitter, especially in terms of philanthropy, may lie in its ability to spread information like wildfire.

Read the rest of The Daily Tell article here.

Philanthropy Goes Digital

Nonprofit organizations attempting to engage a new generation of philanthropists - youth who are plugged into a digital world and expect immediate results - are turning to social networking and digital technology to connect young philanthropists with those in need.

Two new websites (Seeyourimpact.org and jolkona.org)allow online donors to track and even witness the impact of their donations, with the premise that more people would donate if they could see what a difference even a small donation makes.

Read the full article here.