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Just one of those definitional questions (thank you postie person, ‘cos I know you know this).
The usage of each term does get mixed and practice also merges the meanings. I’ve seen company philanthropy in the guise of a sponsorship (an award that got supported for years with very minimal demand for “sponsor” recognition) and grant-making from trusts with high levels of demand for recognition.
Philanthropy New Zealand uses
“Philanthropy is the act of giving financial resources to a cause that is intended to improve general well-being, and where the giver expects no direct reciprocation or financial gain in return”
Wikipedia connects modern philanthropy with its long history and suggests “private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life”. Thereby allowing us to make philanthropy distinct from government (public initiatives for public good) and business (private initiatives for private good). No value judgments here, just some ways in to establishing what the motivations or expectations might be.
More thoughts?
In the not too distant past some sponsorship relationships did border on the philanthropic - usually when a CEO (or his partner!) had more than a passing interest in the art form or organisation - as the support (barring a few free tickets and glasses of bubbly) was given with little expected in return. But those times are all but gone. Most companies now seem to pay for sponsorships from their marketing budgets and marketing departments have KPIs and targets so they are unlikely to invest in something that offers no return. They also have Sponsorship Managers whose job is usually to manage the relationships and ensure decent return on investment... And advise senior management if it doesn't!In my opinion sponsorship is now a commercial relationship between two companies who work together to provide each other with meaningful benefits and add value through the partnership to the customers or audience.Philanthropy, on the other hand, is the selfless act of giving to a cause or an organisation that vallued by the giver. Although, in reality, not all philanthropists are entirely selfless when they give! The American college fundraisers can attest to that. Donations are usually conditional on some sort of recognition: a plaque or a building with the donor's name on it.
Fundraisers never say die, Jooles !
So, while I acknowledge that there's a level of entrenchment of the "transactional" sponsorship over the philanthropic gift within organisations, I won't close the door on businesses behaving in surprising ways ! One recent development that is going to be really interesting to watch is the introduction of payroll giving...thoughts on this, anyone ?
I am really interested in payroll giving.
But what this really brings up is how does each individual choose a charity e.g. one painter in a studio in Wellington as opposed to something larger and recognisable like the Affordable Arts Trust or the Royal NZ Ballet.
I work in the Performing Arts industry and am interested in approaching fundraising for theatre and dance groups from a group perspective (e.g. performing arts nz). This would be both through the payroll giving and through sponsorship from organisations.
Is anyone else working in this area or have thoughts on this concept.
It is early days for payroll giving, the scheme (which is voluntary) introduced by Inland Revenue from January 2010.
Organisations like United Way New Zealand have been using a payroll scheme to collect gifts from companies for some years. Their experience (they prioritise areas other than the arts) would be worth checking out.
What you’ve got me thinking about though, thank you Josephine, is the ecology of the funds “market” (for lack of a better word). That is, the ways in which the distribution system works for the arts. How easy is it, for example, for a prospective arts philanthropist to find efficient ways to give ? How do the mechanisms that do exist address the possible inequities that might develop in markets over time ?
With the various reviews going on at the moment, there’s no time like the present to start thinking about these questions and making your voice heard.
Payroll giving ...........
In addition to the website Margaret has provided, the Office of the Community and Voluntary Sector provides a good overview of Payroll Giving - a new voluntary scheme that became an option for New Zealand workplaces in January 2010.
Payroll giving enables donations to go directly from a person's pay to their favourite charitable or not-for-profit organisation - as long as that organisation has "donee status" with IRD.
To check which organisations have donee status, see: http://www.ird.govt.nz/donee-organisations/
Ingrid Kamstra, Policy Group, Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Pay roll giving
I think it’s vital we find a way to make pay roll giving work for arts organisations but we need to look at how we position it.
I think it’s an effective form of philanthropy that sits well with the generations who automate their bills and rent and already interact with their favourite charities and art forms online. Many of them already give to causes via direct debit or fund-raising websites. It's vital that this generation is engaged in a form of philanthropy that they are familiar with as I am unsure whether we can assume that current models of individual philanthropy will prevail in the future.
At the moment I feel pay roll giving or any form of automated giving is traditionally associated with causes and charities. Whilst many arts organisations in New Zealand are not for profit and have donee status, I don't think people perceive our need as urgent or as great as charities that deal with social or health issues.
I also don't think many arts organisations perceive themselves as charities. Whilst a specific arts based project or cause can inspire a great deal of philanthropy, the majority of my work, for example, is focussed on generating ongoing and meaningful relationships with sponsors, funders and philanthropists. Our core business is producing theatre; it's not raising funds for a cause. Thus we're different beasts from say, the Breast Cancer Foundation.
I have certainly had people express doubt about whether it's appropriate to ask people to give via their pay roll to an arts organisation. Some people have expressed the opinion that it is tacky.
Pay roll giving represents a two fold challenge for us on that front – using a mechanism embraced by a new generation of givers to encourage philanthropy in the arts and overcoming/debunking the idea held by those both in and outside the sector, that it’s for charities whose sole purpose is to fund-raise.
I look forward to seeing what others have to say about this and working towards instituting new forms of philanthropy within the arts in the months/years to come.
Anna Connell, Partnerships Manager, Auckland Theatre Company
Anna,
You are right on the button about the challenges that payroll giving represents. We need to frame our thinking and use the mechanisms of giving that our constituency recognise and are happy with. And we need to build a more robust public case for the arts. Thanks very much for this, and for moving the discussion on.
Anna - personally I think arts organisations may be better placed to benefit from payroll giving than some causes.
People are passionate about the arts and arts organisations (orchestras, theatre, etc) have committed attendees and supporters who are probably MORE inclined and (without stereotyping) probably more financially able to give to the organisations they benefit from. Whereas many of the people who benefit from social agencies/causes are possibly less financially equipped to be able to contribute regularly.
If arts organisations made concerted efforts to convert their regular attendees and supporters to payroll giving, then I think they could potentially benefit hugely from more regular committed philanthropic giving.
Check out some of the ideas at http://www.ocvs.govt.nz/work-programme/three-key-projects/payroll-giving.html#Tipsfordoneeorganisations5 to see how arts organsiations could promote payroll giving to their supporters.
It's really up to employees to make payroll giving a success - they need to ask their employers about introducing payroll giving in their workplaces - as most employers are unlikely to initiate the schemes unless there is demand from their staff.