Italy: interview with Robert Forrester from a leading US fundraising company

“American filanthropy has an important goal to reach: private donations must sum to a total of 3% of the GDP as opposed to today?s 1.7% to 2.3%. ” This seems a far fetched goal here in Europe. The U.K is a leader in Europe as far as donations are concerned, yet it lags behind the U.S with donations representing a miserable 0.8% of the total GDP. In Italy, where they represent 0.11%, the goal seems unreachable. Robert Forrester, from Payne, Forrester and Associates, a philanthropic consulting firm, delivered the inaugural speech at the convention on philanthropy organized by the Cariplo Foundation and is an expert in the matter. Despite Italy?s bad track record, he chose to present us with his recipe for stimulating private benefaction : “Unearthing new donors, especially among the younger generations and employees of large firms as they are the real leaders in corporate philanthropy today.” Vita: Bill Clinton recently announced that he set a fundraising record by raising 7 million dollars. Did he manage to unearth new donors? Robert Forrester: No, and I find it naïve on his part that he should state the contrary. Newman?s Own Foundation, of which I am the vice director, also sent him a cheque, but we would have donated that money in anycase. Unearthing new donors is something different. Vita: Will the Buffet-Gates agreement help to uncover new philanthropists? Forrester: It hasn?t shifted the weight in any dramatic way. To reach the 3% of GNP mark for private donations, it is necessary to: have a greater respect for fundraisers as it is one of the jobs that most helps in reducing social inequalities and to re evaluate the relationship between donors and recipients. There is still too much distance between the two. Vita: Is the same recipe also valid for European philanthropy? Forrester: Increasing the amount of respect for the role of the fundraiser is certainly a valid suggestion for your country, where there is an urgent need for an efficient and competitive philanthropic market. Vita: What solutions can we import from the United States? Forrester: Philanthropy is not American, nor is it European or Asian. Its practices can vary from country to country but the basic element common to all donations is man and man?s essence. The inclination to give is part of human dna. Vita: The Economist published a study made by Bethesda for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke that claims that the type of pleasure connected to the act of giving has physiological roots. Would you agree? Forrester: Yes. I have been working in this field for 37 years and have seen it happen many times. The pleasure people get from giving is especially noticeable in those who donate to children who are seriously ill, like those taken care of by the Newman?s Own Foundation. The motive behind such donations is certainly not a calculation like: ” I?ll invest in these children as they are likely to be my clients or employees in the future.” Vita: You have worked as a philanthropic consultant in many Arab and Middle Eastern countries. What have you learned about their way of donating? Forrester: To never ask directly for money when in Muslim countries. They have a well established philanthropic tradition that has it?s roots in the Koran and unlike European and American cultures they find it hard to say ?no?. It is therefore better to wait for them to offer their donation. http://www.payneforrester.com/