Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, Boston College
Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College
PROFILE
Paul Schervish
Guest
FROM Paul Schervish
To the Point
What Happens to Our Charitable Contributions? T'is the season of charitable giving, but how well do charities use the money we give them? Americans will donate about $300 billion to charities this year. Will the money be used the way the donors think it will? How effective is our charitable giving? How much is wasted? How difficult is it to give away the huge sums that billionaires are pumping into their favored causes? And what unintended consequences result from our best intentions?
Which Way, L.A.?
Can Billionaire Philanthropists Change the World? Bill and Melinda Gates , the Rockefeller Foundation , George Soros and Google are all spending big money on hunger, poverty and global warming. Soros is giving $50 billion to what's called the Millennium Promise , and two foundations--Gates and Rockefeller--have joined forces in a new Green Revolution designed to fight poverty in Africa by ending hunger. Supporters welcome a "golden age of philanthropy," but at least one skeptic calls it a "tournament of billionaires" full of potential pitfalls. The Green Revolution caused environmental problems in Asia and Latin America. Can that be avoided in Africa? Can well-intentioned assistance bypass corrupt and incompetent governments and get to the people who need it? Can philanthropy generate profits? (An extended version of this discussion was originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point.)
To the Point
Can Billionaire Philanthropists Change the World? Bill and Melinda Gates , the Rockefeller Foundation , George Soros and Google are all spending big money on hunger, poverty and global warming. Soros is giving $50 billion to what's called the Millennium Promise , and two foundations--Gates and Rockefeller--have joined forces in a new Green Revolution designed to fight poverty in Africa by ending hunger. Supporters welcome a "golden age of philanthropy," but at least one skeptic calls it a "tournament of billionaires" full of potential pitfalls. The Green Revolution caused environmental problems in Asia and Latin America. Can that be avoided in Africa? Can well-intentioned assistance bypass corrupt and incompetent governments and get to the people who need it? Can philanthropy generate profits?
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