Philanthropy Ireland ANNUAL REPORT 2015
Contents About Us.. Page 2 Introduction......Page 3 Objective 1: To Build the Evidence Base For Philanthropy.. Page 4 Objective 2: To Increase the Level of Philanthropy In Ireland & Expand The Level Of Donors..Page 6 Objective 3: To Create an Optimal Environment for Philanthropy.Page 9 Objective 4: To Insure The Effectiveness Of PI In Delivering It s Mission....Page 12 Page 1
About Us Philanthropy Ireland is the Association of independent philanthropic organisations in Ireland, including grant making trusts and foundations. Established in 1998 as a voluntary and informal network called the Funders Forum, the organisation was established as a company limited by guarantee, with charitable status in 2004 and changed its name to Philanthropy Ireland. Mission To increase the level of philanthropy in Ireland and to expand the community of engaged donors who are regular, strategic, long-term contributors to good causes. Board as of 31 st December 2015 Maurice Healy (Chairman) Eoghan Stack Colin McCrea Carmel Buckley Bernard Kirk Louise Oppermann Paul O'Sullivan Colin Hunt Staff Éilis Murray (CEO) Niki King (Project Coordinator) Contact Information Philanthropy Ireland 85 Merrion Square South Dublin 2 Tel.: (00353) 1 676 8751; W.: www.philanthropy.ie; Email: info@philanthropy.ie Page 2
Introduction 2015 proved to be a year of change for Philanthropy Ireland as an organisation, while still holding with the core mission to grow and develop the level of planned giving in Ireland. Promotion and awareness raising of philanthropy and giving remained a core objective of the organisation, with much effort dedicated to continuing the messaging to key target audiences on the value of planned strategic giving. Of significance in the year were the opportunities for engaging in the messaging to key target audiences by collaborating on various events. This included for example the Ray Murphy lecture, a welcome return to the philanthropic space in Ireland and an opportunity to engage with a diverse cross section of donors and advocates for philanthropy. As we progressed towards a General Election, time was invested in engaging with political parties to communicate awareness and understanding of the value of philanthropy in Irish society with a view to seeking commitment for the ongoing development of a supportive environment for the growth of philanthropy. The development of an effective and vibrant philanthropic sector must happen in partnership and collaboration with government. While much was achieved in terms of engagement subsequent events somewhat overtook the messaging therein. A key feature of 2015, most particularly toward the close of the year, was the increased media coverage on philanthropy related topics. This was propelled somewhat by the ever closer prospect of the closure of The Atlantic Philanthropies, with the Zuckerberg announcement providing a further high profile platform for discussion. Such discussions are welcomed and fostered, providing profile and understanding of the value, impact and potential of philanthropy in our society. Greater detail on activities set against objectives is outlined below. The Board of PI continue to provide oversight and guidance to review progress against mission and to ensure the work of PI remains relevant to the sector and provides continuing value. Page 3
Objective 1: To Build the Evidence Base for Philanthropy Achieving some success in building the evidence base is critical if we are to achieve success in promoting philanthropy in Ireland. We sought to do this in a variety of ways over the twelve months, informally by utilising platforms to demonstrate and highlight evidence of good giving; more formally by looking at the opportunities to provide solid research based evidence; and in general terms by engaging in public conversations on philanthropy and giving. In October we hosted the 7 th Ray Murphy Lecture, building on previous events, which this year focused on the role and value of corporate philanthropy. Dr Jacob Gayle, Vice President of Medtronic Foundation, gave the key note address to an audience of over 80 guests representing the business community and the philanthropic sector in Ireland, almost 40% of whom were first time attendees at a PI event. The response was provided by Rosheen McGuckian, Group CEO NTR plc & Chair NTR Foundation, and chaired by Maurice Healy, CEO of Healy Chemicals and the Healy Foundation. The event was positively received in the media, both print and radio, providing a significant platform to demonstrate the value and impact of corporate philanthropy, both for the causes supported and for the business itself. Page 4
It also served to illustrate different models for engagement by business with philanthropy. As a follow through from the event, talks are underway with a funder following expression of interest to resource roundtable discussions with key audiences on the future development of philanthropy in Ireland. As part of our strategy to facilitate engagement with corporate giving, we facilitated a breakfast networking session for businesses in the City West area as a pilot project. SAP and Xilinx, two of the larger businesses in the area with well-developed corporate giving programmes, gave presentations on their programmes to an invited audience of peer businesses. Hosted by DCU Ryan Academy, deliverables from the event included follow up inquiries from two significant businesses in the area on developing giving programmes and continued networking between small numbers of the businesses. This activity will be reviewed to establish value for delivery of similar events in other high density business areas. The evidence and research base for philanthropy in Ireland has been an ongoing challenge. There is a recognised need by all stakeholders in the philanthropic sector for co-ordination of any existing research, including sources and themes. In the first instance this would provide an overview of what research is already available and where, providing opportunity for follow-on to identify outstanding gaps and how they can be addressed. PI facilitated a meeting of academics in the Irish space for the purpose of information exchange and with a view to documenting sources and themes of existing research on Irish philanthropy and related interests. While this remains a work in progress, a Linked In page for researchers was established as a repository for information and works of interest. This is being tracked by a member of the academic community supported by PI for review in 2016. Staying on the research theme, PI was connected with Kennedy Research Institute in Harvard University with a view to engaging with them on their Global Philanthropy Research Project, the GPR study. They are undertaking a pilot project to provide an international comparative study of philanthropy, the study being funded by UBS, and are seeking in country collaborators. Supported by Irish researchers, PI are engaged in discussions to act as lead organisation to facilitate Irish participation in the pilot phase. The benefits would include access to international standards and resources for the completion of research to profile the Irish landscape of Foundation giving. Page 5
While discussions have yet to be finalised, we have agreed to participate with the research scheduled for completion by the end of 2016. It will be overseen by PI in partnership with a key academic institution, discussions currently underway with the Centre for Non-Profit Management in Trinity College Dublin. We continued to circulate updates and information on developments in the philanthropic sector to both members and a broader community of linked and interested stakeholders. A good indicator of engagement was the continued growth in the number of subscribers to our e-zine, 25% year on year, with the click through and open rates achieved being well above industry average. The e-zine is now circulated to almost 450 subscribers, bi- monthly, providing a strong communications platform to promote the value and impact of philanthropy. We continue to utilise our social media platforms, with clear strategies on communication and positive engagement. Our number of followers continues to increase across all platforms, but most notably on Linked In and Twitter. Our website was updated to make it mobile compatible: http://www.philanthropy.ie/. This provided opportunity for some redesign elements to be included. There has been positive reaction to the changes and we will continue to review. There is increased traffic to the website, most particularly to the news and events page. We are continuing to monitor inquires received via the website and directly to the office to gauge referral source, nature of information required and nature of follow up information provided. Objective 2: To Increase the Level of Philanthropy in Ireland and Expand the Community of Donors As part of our ongoing commitment to promote giving and most particularly building on the activity of the One Per Cent Difference, we targeted below the line activity by concentrating on key cohorts for messaging. For example, plans were developed for the hosting of a roundtable discussion on Social Impact Investing with key leaders from the financial sector, this will take place in 2016. The objective is to provide strategic alignment with key business sectors on models of giving. If this is successful, the approach may be replicated with other key business sector. The One Per Cent Difference social media platforms continue to promote the message on giving. We have successfully retained core audiences and followers of the campaign with whom we have continued to engage. We also undertook promotion of the campaign through linked events such as the INC Conference and Business & Finance Special Edition on Business Giving. To provide alternative mechanisms for engagement with giving, we once again brought The Funding Network model of giving to Ireland, this time to Cork. Essentially a live crowd funding format, the Cork event was hosted by the Port of Cork and was highly successful in drawing new audiences (over Page 6
80 people attended), facilitating giving and introducing potential donors, corporate and individual, to local causes. It proved an excellent vehicle for messaging on giving. Local print media carried a feature and review of the event. An added bonus for PI was the opportunity to get our messaging beyond Dublin, this was the first event PI held in Cork. An indicator of the value of such an event was the follow up funding received by one of the projects presenting a three-year commitment from one of the major donors present. We will continue to strive to identify opportunities for engagement with audiences beyond Dublin. We continued to provide advisory and information support for those interested in setting up a trust or foundation as a grant making body. Magnitude is a new foundation established in 2015 and actively supported throughout the development stage by PI. Cork Foundation, while active in the economic development space for a number of years, moved into the social development activity in the Cork area and we were delighted to welcome them on board as Members of PI. There is a notable increase in the level of media profiling and coverage of philanthropy, while some of this is fuelled by the planned exit of The Atlantic Philanthropies, the increased profiling of international figures, notably millennials such as Mark Zuckerberg, has provided both content and context for debate, discussion and profiling of the benefits of philanthropy. For example, Dave Fanning covered a radio piece on the Zuckerberg announcement which we contributed to. https://player.fm/series/rt-dave-fanning-show-podcast/philanthropy The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner also carried pieces at different stages on giving and the impact in the Irish space, both pieces carried with input from PI. Page 7
While growth and expansion of philanthropy in Ireland remains a significant challenge for the future, there are indicators for optimism for positive change in the landscape. With the upturn in the economy there is increased confidence which in turn will facilitate willingness and openness to engage with giving. Our tracking and anecdotal feedback indicates that awareness and understanding of philanthropy and giving is growing. This provides a good platform for continued build for the future. Page 8
Objective 3: To Create an Optimal Environment for Philanthropy Our objective here was approached by undertaking continued engagement at policy level and by partnering with key organisations in the sector on common issues. In relation to Government, we maintained open conversations with the Department of Environment Community and Local Government on the value of philanthropy and the ongoing need for policy support for the successful development of the sector. DECLG have remained committed to the objectives and mission of the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising as evidenced through their continued support of the implementing organisations of the forum recommendations. Their support and insights has been very welcome. In anticipation of the General Election, we proactively engaged with key political parties to seek commitments of support for philanthropy in their manifestos. This provided excellent opportunity for engagement with policy advisers to support understanding of the sector and communication of messaging on value to civil society. While we did achieve some degree of success with subsequent statements of support, this was somewhat overshadowed by subsequent events in the formation of a government. It is an area we will continue to monitor and seek to impact on. Taken from the Fine Gael Manifesto 2016: We continue to have positive working relationships with linked infrastructural organisations such as ICTR and Fundraising Ireland believing in the importance of the relationship between the ask and the give. We will continue to link with ICTR in activating the implementation of the Forum on Philanthropy and Fundraising recommendation on the encouragement of Major Gift Philanthropy. With a changed environment over 2014-2015 for giving, most particularly in relation to trust of charities, timing for implementation of this recommendation was not considered the optimum. Following initial discussions and soundings with key stakeholders, it will be re-examined over the course of 2016. The placement of an Opinion Piece in the Irish Independent in September provided opportunity to prompt discussion on the development of philanthropy in Ireland, the shaping of the sector and the visioning for the future. While highlighting the value of philanthropy to Irish society it was intended as a call to action for key stakeholders to contribute to the discussion and debate on the shaping of the sector. In particular, it underpinned the need for a partnership and collaborative approach among all stakeholders, including government. Feedback and comment was positive and resulted in new connections for PI. Page 9
Supporting good practice remains an ambition of the organisation and is critical to the fostering of a positive environment for the development of philanthropy. There were two plenary meetings for Members held in 2015, one in July and one in November. The July meeting was addressed by Minister Anne Phelan. In her address she reiterated the commitment of government to continued support for the sector noting the value of philanthropy in partnering with government to address critical social issues. Additional presentations were provided by James Foley, of Electric Aid, and Ken Owens, Partner in PWC and Director of basis.point, both giving insightful overviews of their current giving programmes and how they are working. Karen Hand gave a presentation at the November Plenary. Karen had recently completed her research on branding in non-profits. Her research was funded under the Ray Murphy Bursary, which is administered by PI. Page 10
Her presentation provides critical insights on perceptions of non-profits and the importance of communications and messaging to the broader public. Karen has since gone on to disseminate her research findings to a number of key audiences across the sector. A smaller breakfast meeting of members took place on October 1 st which is marked annually as European Donors and Foundation Day. The event, facilitated by Ruairi McKiernan, with input from Una Herlihy of Open Communications, provided opportunity for Members to reflect on communication strategies, utilisation and optimisation of communication channels, core messaging and understanding the end receiver. There was good exchange of information and experiences with practical emphasis placed on efficiencies of messaging and how this can be done on very limited budgets. We will review possibilities to mark the day in 2016, with likely emphasis on a practical workshop type event. We had direct engagement with 28 members at varying occasions on specific issues of interest. We continue to update members via e-mail on issues of interest and/or opportunities arising likely to be of specific interest to them. We plan to formalise some of this activity during 2016 through the provision of a direct member monthly mail providing links to a selection of articles of interest to the sector categorised under key themes. Finally, in relation to member activity, we were delighted to welcome 3 new members to PI in 2015 Magnitude Foundation, Turn 2 Us and Galway Education Centre. We were also delighted to reconnect with Genio, a long-time associate with PI who, following a short absence, re-joined as a full member. The ambition of collaboration and connectivity continues to underpin all activity. In this regard we have networked with a variety of key organisations with a view to remaining alert to developments within the sector and to continue to build profile and understanding of needs. This included liaison with a range of organisations - professional advisers, infrastructural support entities, representative bodies, etc. to exchange information and understanding on messaging and to seek opportunity for active collaboration. Page 11
We continue to engage on international best practice and standards through our participation in DAFNE, the Donors and Foundations Network of Europe. This is a network of over 25 representative organisations, similar to PI, from across Europe who network for the purpose of information exchange and peer learning. Two meetings of the network were attended over the year with funding for attendance being provided via a bursary from EFC, the European Foundation Centre. http://dafne-online.eu/ Objective 4: To Ensure the Effectiveness of PI in Delivering its Mission. As an organisation PI continues to work towards achieving the highest standards of transparency and accountability. We registered with and are fully compliant with the Charities Regulation Authority and the Lobbying Register. In relation to the latter, although we had nothing to declare for 2015 it was deemed prudent to register from the outset given the nature of our activity. We have taken further steps towards full compliance with the Governance Codes. This continues to be a work in progress with the ambition that we will achieve full compliance with the standards over the next twelve months. In relation to Governance of the organisation, after taking on the role of Executive Director of PI, Eilis Murray stepped down as Company Secretary as per good practice. Bernard Kirk took on the role of Company Secretary in March 2015. Colin Hunt joined as a Director of PI in September 2015. As all outgoing Directors presented themselves for re-election at the AGM of PI there was no further changes at Board level. The organisation will continue to review needs at Board level and will likely seek to recruit additional Board members in the near future. In conclusion while we have had an eventful year, challenging in many ways, it is one from which we have emerged with renewed vigour and cause for some optimism. While there are undoubtedly challenges ahead, there is much which we can continue to build on. Philanthropy Ireland and we as a Board, remain committed to taking the lead in continuing to work for the development of a vibrant philanthropic sector for the benefit of Irish society. We will continue to focus on the areas of promotion, policy and practice of philanthropy in support of this ambition in 2016. Page 12