Ideas

European Philanthropy: a Vision of Unity

The vision of Europe as a single market and economic superpower has become a reality. There are a common currency and common central bank. Is this not the time to develop a common European policy for philanthropy?

If, for reasons understandable, to protect national sovereignty over their tax laws, European Union member states cannot agree on uniform, Europe-wide tax incentives for philanthropy, surely it makes sense for European leaders at least to consider common criteria to encourage charitable giving. And surely, too, it should be possible to agree on steps to facilitate philanthropic contributions across European national borders. At least let the debate begin.

— John Brademas, president emeritus of New York University, and chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, in a speech to the Sixth World Hellenic Biomedical Congress, in Athens

Encouraging Collaboration In the Nonprofit World

The time has come for us to get to know each other and — when possible — even appreciate each other’s work. Understanding each other is a necessary precursor to good collaboration. And collaboration is the best hope for staving off wasteful duplication.

The nonprofit sector resembles an orchestra, with many organizations playing different parts and different instruments. The important thing is that we play the same symphony. To push this metaphor, I believe there is discord today because our string players aren’t sitting together, our horn players aren’t sitting together, and our percussionists aren’t sitting together. We have to explore ways in which we can have, when possible and desirable, harmonious collaboration. But because of the central role we play in our democracy, it is our historical and moral responsibility to make sure we are doing all we can to fulfill the missions of our institutions.

— Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, in a speech to the annual conference of Independent Sector, in Washington

It’s Best to Give It All Away

Our shared philosophy is drawn from the words of the Episcopal funeral service: “We brought nothing into this world, and surely we can taking nothing from it.” So why not give it all away? After all, how much do we benefit from our efforts to consume our wealth? Do we really help our children and grandchildren by setting them up with trusts and estates so they don’t have to work to earn a living as we and our parents did? I don’t think so.

Unfortunately, we are all influenced by estate planners and estate lawyers with endless ideas to avoid estate taxes. For many wealthy people, these plans only protect a small fraction of their estates and subject the remainder to the 55-percent tax. For those of us trying to build our equity base, these plans tie up our funds and limit our flexibility to give as we wish and when we wish. Besides, there is no more tax-efficient way to manage your funds than giving them away in your lifetime.

— William W. George, chief executive officer of Medtronic Incorporated, and cofounder of the George Family Foundation, in a speech to Minnesota Public Radio’s conference, “Sharing the Wealth: Charitable Giving in Prosperous Times”