Thanks to the friends who know my pile of New Yorker magazines is taller than my son. They know that the chances I've read an article in the October 30 2006 issue are slim to none and so drew my attention to last week's article on microfinance and Muhammad Yunus.
So here's the question: Where is the proof? Does microfinance actually get people out of poverty or does it just make them less poor?
Since microcredit and microfinance has become the 20-years-in-the-making-overnight-sensation of American philanthropists it is sure to attract 100s of millions (perhaps even billions) of USD in philanthropic investment. But there's plenty of time for a track record - where's the proof that it works?
Sunday, November 05, 2006
worldchanging
This book - WorldChanging - is cool. It well deserves its moniker as "the Whole Earth Catalogue for the iPod generation." As someone who still owns a copy of the Catalogue and also owns an iPod, I find it reassuring that the book and the website exist.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Why 2173?
The title of this blog, Philanthropy 2173 refers to the year 2173. Why that year? Attached is dialogue from Woody Allen's movie, Sleeper, which takes place in 2173.
Person 1: "HAS HE ASKED FOR ANYTHING SPECIAL ?"
Person 2: "YES, THIS MORNING FOR BREAKFAST. HE REQUESTED SOMETHING
CALLED WHEAT GERM, ORGANIC HONEY AND TIGER'S MILK."
[ Laughs ]
Person 1; "OH, YES. THOSE WERE THE CHARMED SUBSTANCES...THAT SOME YEARS AGO WERE FELT TO CONTAIN LIFE-PRESERVING PROPERTIES."
Person 2: "YOU MEAN THERE WAS NO DEEP FAT ? NO STEAK OR CREAM PIES
OR HOT FUDGE ?"
Person 1: "THOSE WERE THOUGHT TO BE UNHEALTHY, PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE
OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW TO BE TRUE."
So, lets talk about the future. But we best keep our sense of humor about how sure we are of what we say.
Person 1: "HAS HE ASKED FOR ANYTHING SPECIAL ?"
Person 2: "YES, THIS MORNING FOR BREAKFAST. HE REQUESTED SOMETHING
CALLED WHEAT GERM, ORGANIC HONEY AND TIGER'S MILK."
[ Laughs ]
Person 1; "OH, YES. THOSE WERE THE CHARMED SUBSTANCES...THAT SOME YEARS AGO WERE FELT TO CONTAIN LIFE-PRESERVING PROPERTIES."
Person 2: "YOU MEAN THERE WAS NO DEEP FAT ? NO STEAK OR CREAM PIES
OR HOT FUDGE ?"
Person 1: "THOSE WERE THOUGHT TO BE UNHEALTHY, PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE
OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW TO BE TRUE."
So, lets talk about the future. But we best keep our sense of humor about how sure we are of what we say.
Warren Buffett Redefines Payout
I had an interesting conversation with Buzz Schmidt of Guidestar UK. He claims that Warren Buffett did not give $30BB to the Gates Foundation, as was widely publicized. Schmidt's read of the Buffett announcement (as reported in Fortune Magazine) is that Buffett gave 5% of the value of a set amount of Berkshire Hathaway stock. Under certain likely circumstances, which Schmidt details in an upcoming piece in Alliance Magazine, Buffett figured out a way to give the Foundation an awful lot of money (as long as Bill and Melinda Gates remain actively involved), while holding onto even more of it. If he's giving 5% of the value of the shares, that means he's holding on to 95% of the value - thus getting credit for giving $30BB while actually retaining the majority of the pile and watching it grow.
On the face of it, its not too surprising that "America's greatest investor" would figure out a way to make a buck even while giving it away. And its not at all unlike what foundations themselves do, granting 5% of their assets to good causes while investing the other 95% to perpetuate themselves.
On the face of it, its not too surprising that "America's greatest investor" would figure out a way to make a buck even while giving it away. And its not at all unlike what foundations themselves do, granting 5% of their assets to good causes while investing the other 95% to perpetuate themselves.
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