CREDIT SUISSE GROUP REVEAL
RESULTS OF NEW STUDY "Next-Generation Philanthropy: Changing
the World" - Study Follows Historic Forbes 400 Summit on
Philanthropy- New York, NY (September 18, 2012) Forbes
Insights announced the findings of a new study, "Next
Generation Philanthropy: Changing the World," sponsored by
Credit Suisse Group, as part of the Forbes 400 Summit on
Philanthropy.
This summer, in an unprecedented gathering of wealth and
international philanthropy, Forbes brought together 150
billionaires and near-billionaires, including keynote
speakers Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Oprah Winfrey, for a
private discussion of ways to help solve the world's most
intractable problems. The peer exchange, which focused on
greater collaboration, sharing of best practices and upfront
education, helped advance the conversation around
philanthropy on a global level. The gathering may also lead
to fundamental shifts in how the world's most influential
philanthropists carry out their charitable efforts. Key
themes that emerged included: * These billionaire
philanthropists, in contrast to previous generations, expect
to see the results of their philanthropy in their lifetime
and have less interest in leaving a legacy. * An increasing
number of them are willing to partner, with people like
themselves, with corporations or with the recipients to
ensure greater effectiveness. * They are willing to be
venture-like in their giving, viewing the philanthropic
investments as risk capital.
Moreover, they are willing to take risks, fail and learn
from the experience in order to be more effective over time.
* They plan on giving their money away over a short time
frame - more than half of respondents at the summit have set
a time horizon of less than 10 years to see a return on
their philanthropic investments. The full results from this
summit will be featured in the forthcoming Forbes 400
Philanthropy issue. Following the summit, the Forbes
Insights study was launched to better understand how high
net worth individuals across the globe pursue their
philanthropic goals. Among the key findings, the study
revealed: * Giving is alive and well. 54% of all respondents
say they will leave more than 25% of their assets to
charity.
Nearly half (46%) of those with more than $20 million in
investable assets plan to leave half or more of their assets
to charity; nearly 1 in 5 of those with over $50 million in
investable assets plan to leave 100% of their assets to
charity. * A Business-Like Approach to Giving. 53% of all
respondents agree with the statement "I find applying my
business experience to my philanthropy is an effective and
successful approach to giving." This rises to 61% among
those who are at the more than $20 million level. More of
them partner with businesses (40%) for their philanthropic
endeavors than with government agencies (22%) or other
non-profits (28%). * Taxes, U.S. Elections and Giving. Most
(56%) feel that tax policy impacts their charitable giving.
64% believe the elections will impact tax policies, while
50% believe the elections will impact the climate for
philanthropy. "Forbes was pleased to partner with Credit
Suisse to launch this philanthropy study and share new
insights into the motivations, risk profile and
effectiveness of high net worth individuals who want to have
a tangible impact on affecting change," said Forbes Media
President and CEO Mike Perlis. "Credit Suisse was delighted
to participate in the Philanthropy Summit and the impactful
research that followed," says Anthony DeChellis, the Chief
Executive Officer of Private Banking Americas of Credit
Suisse Group. "This gathering may well affect how future
philanthropists go about carrying out their charitable work
because they have the benefit of collaboration with those
who have gone before them and the benefit of their insights
and experiences. Additional findings of the Forbes Insights
study included: Motivation to give comes from the heart. 70%
of respondents in the survey say that they are driven by
personal values, while 36% say faith, 35% a sense of
obligation or duty, 32% family legacy and 31% a desire to
add value to society at large. Among the top areas for
philanthropists that respondents say they consider are the
organizational structure of giving, collaborations, vehicles
of funding, measuring success and passing on the torch to
the next generation.
Family foundations are more important as asset levels grow.
Fifty nine percent of those with investable assets of $50
million or more have established a philanthropic entity. The
majority would like to see this entity be continued by their
descendants. Today's philanthropists are creating the base
for the next generation of philanthropists. Fifty-nine
percent of the respondents believe they are setting an
important example for future generations, and 42% have
developed a succession plan for future generations.
Measuring philanthropic impact is a work in progress. With
nearly half of respondents (44%) having a time horizon of
less than ten years to see a return on their philanthropic
investments, new ways to track projects are necessary.
Indeed, 62% of survey respondents use some form of tracking,
such as Impact Reporting & Investment Standards (IRIS) and
the Global Impact Investing Ratings System (GIIRS). Social
media takes hold as part of a philanthropic strategy, but is
not a substitute for personal time and commitment. Facebook
(37%), Twitter (24%) and YouTube (23%) were the top three
social media platforms utilized by survey respondents. All
of Forbes Insights' interviewees, however, indicated social
media could only highlight a cause. Seeing a project through
to the end requires a significant amount of time and
commitment, in addition to publicity. The study surveyed 264
high net worth individuals across the globe, including the
U.S., China, Japan, India and the UK. Forty-six percent of
the respondents had net investable assets of $4.9 million or
less; 34% of the respondents had net investable assets of $5
million to $19.9 million; and the remaining respondents
reported net investable assets of $20 million or more. About
Forbes Insights Forbes Insights
www.forbes.com/forbesinsights is the
strategic research practice of Forbes Media, publisher of
Forbes magazine and Forbes.com.
Taking advantage of a proprietary database of senior-level
executives in the Forbes community, Forbes Insights'
research covers a wide range of vital business issues,
including: talent management; marketing; financial
benchmarking; risk and regulation; small/midsize business;
and more. About Credit Suisse Group Corporate Responsibility
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