Giving or Investing?
Sean Stannard-Stockton in a recent post on his blog Tactical Philanthropy examines the issues surrounding the concept of investment in a philanthropic sense. Many donors now see their philanthropic gifts as “investments” rather than donations, whereas they would previously have been seen as an expense. Sean explores some of the implications of this change in attitude, including:
- Donors seeing their philanthropy as a positive aspect of their financial affairs rather than a negative cost
- Donors may begin viewing not-for-profits as organisations they want to support, rather than as providers of services, goods or widgets whose costs they would prefer not to fund
- Expectations shift from demanding short-term results to an understanding that donors are investing in the infrastructure of an organisation to ensure its long-term success
- An increased emphasis on philanthropy by wealth managers, as they realise that their clients view giving not as an expense to be minimised but rather as an asset allocation issue.
A commenter on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s blog roundup Give and Take suggests that the semantics are important and that investment is not philanthropy because it requires a return. Others argue that this is a matter of donor education, and that donors who think of their donations as investments may grow into better givers.
What do you think?