Global Philanthropy: Why Western Models May Not Work Everywhere ...

Global Philanthropy: Why Western Models May Not Work Everywhere
Source: India Knowledge@Wharton

Warren Buffett and William Gates are targeting billionaires: They want the world?s wealthy to contribute at least 50% of their fortunes to charity by joining a global initiative called the Giving Pledge. By the end of April, the 69 donors who had signed up so far included Larry Ellison, David Rockefeller, Ted Turner and Mark Zuckerberg. In India, there are none. When Buffett and Gates were visiting the country in March this year to push their cause, G.M. Rao, infrastructure tycoon and head of the GMR Group, announced that he was donating US$340 million ? his personal share in the business ? to charity. But he clarified it had nothing to do with the visiting duo. In China, which Buffett and Gates had visited in September 2010, billionaire philanthropist Chen Guangbiao said he would donate not half but all of his personal wealth to charity. According to a Reuters report, he had convinced 100 other Chinese businessmen to do the same. Still, seven months later, none of their names are on the Pledge. ?[Buffett and Gates] don?t understand China,? says Feng Gang, professor of sociology at the Zhejiang University in Hangzhou. Adds Harsh Goenka, chairman of the Mumbai-based RPG Enterprises: ?[In India,] our charity is not about writing fat checks.?

Following their trips to the two fastest-growing economies in the world ? India and China ? the two billionaire philanthropists seem to have realized that in charitable giving, one size does not fit all. ?A number of people have shown interest in knowing more about what we are doing in the U.S., but it doesn?t mean that it should be done the same way in India,? Buffett told India Knowledge@Wharton in Bangalore. ?You have your own culture, your own history. All we are here to do is talk about what we have been doing. When we were in China, we met around 50 to 60 billionaires, and I was astounded, frankly, that one after the other they stood up and talked about the same things that people talk about in the U.S. ? their families, their business, their hopes, their fears, everything. When people talk to each other, they learn. We can all learn from each other.? Added Gates, who spoke to the media in New Delhi: ?Each country should decide what model of philanthropy makes sense to them.?

Source: http://fulltextreports.com/2011/05/28/global-philanthropy-why-western-models-may-not-work-everywhere/

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