July 11, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
While Bill and Melinda Gates, along with Warren Buffett, are advocating for billionaires to give more of their wealth away, a separate effort by the couple’s foundation is working to encourage people of more modest means to give and to do so effectively.
Last week, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced three grants to advance that goal. The grants are part of an effort by the fund to expand the reach of organizations that try to inform and inspire donors.
‘New Culture of Giving’
The Bridgespan Group, a Boston nonprofit organization that provides consulting services to donors and nonprofits, will receive more than $5-million to develop tools to help people achieve greater results with their giving and to make those tools widely available.
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, in New York, is getting $3.7-million to create resources for donors, including more than two dozen guides to help people create a meaningful plan for their philanthropy.
And Bolder Giving, a group in New York, will receive a $675,000 matching grant to strengthen its ability to encourage people at all income levels to give more generously of their money and time. Each grant will be paid over three years.
Beneficiaries said the money would help improve the quality of philanthropy. “We believe the result will be a new culture of giving,” said Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, in a statement.
