News has quietly trickled out about a hush-hush meeting on May 5 of some of the richest and most philanthropic people in the world, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, George Soros. Apparently, Gates and Warren Buffet invited this elite group together to talk about “need” and what this group could do in light of the current economic crisis.
Nobody knows exactly what they talked about or what plan, if any, they might be cooking up. Perhaps they talked about the Obama administration’s (as yet unimplemented) plan to cut the tax benefit of charitable contributions (and other deductions) for households earning more than $250, 000. A quarter million sounds like a lot of income to most of us, but in fact, it’s less than many of the attendees of this mysterious group actually give in a typical year. For example, Oprah reportedly gave $50 million in 2007, some 2% of her $2.7 billion net worth.
It seems likely that this group will continue to give and give big even if the government makes it less deductible for them, so they probably spent their five hour meeting figuring out how they can join forces (as Buffet and Gates did) to do more good more efficiently, one hopes for more people and more organizations.
But what does this mean to local and regional organizations, organizations benefitting small or little-known groups and situations, organization with budgets in the five or six figures total per year with maybe a handful of major donors, where “major” means a thousand or a few thousand dollars a year?
I fear not too much for many. Major donors, just like the rest of us, like to see results and impact for their dollars, so it seems logical to expect that this group will focus their energies on a smallish group of problems and causes, and put much of their effort behind a smallish group of organizations, or possibly even start their own. That’s not to say those causes and problems are unworthy, and it would certainly be exhilarating to see this group decisively eradicate a big social problem or drive to a cure or treatment for a disease. But for all the worthy causes outside that one, it will be business as usual.
But it’s not all gloom. Regular everyday gift size is down for many, but the number of gifts continues to grow. Foundation support trickles down to smaller organizations in the form of grants. The Obama adminstration’s interest in some kind of service corps could lead to an infusion of volunteer power and maybe funds too for lots of community organizations.
I look forward to the secret meeting bearing public fruit with cautious optimism. What do you think the future holds for these mega-philanthropists and the mass of micro-and medium-sized nonprofit organizations?
