MATTERS
Issue 19
September–October 2004
In This Issue
With this issue, Global Giving Matters
is broadening its focus to highlight
not only best practices in individual
philanthropy and social investment,
but also innovative efforts in corpo-
rate social responsibility (CSR)
around the world. Our first feature
story examines an innovative training
program of global accounting giant
PricewaterhouseCoopers that explic-
itly links leadership development to
community development. In our
second feature, we talk with Helio
Mattar, a pioneer in the field of cor-
porate social responsibility in Brazil,
about the growing CSR movement in
that country.
James M. Brasher III, Director,
Global Philanthropists Circle
© 2004 Synergos/World Economic Forum
2 Feature: PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Project Ulysses – Linking
global leadership training to community development
5 Feature: Helio Mattar – A catalyst for corporate social
responsibility in Brazil
7 Global Giving Round-Up
• Microfinance plus: Unitus partnership to aid urban poor in Kenya
• CSR gains a platform in the Asia Pacific region
• Philanthropist’s $10 million gift to provide safe haven for persecuted scholars
• Focus on fundraising in India
• Heifer Project International tapped for 2004 Hilton Prize
• Gleitsman Foundation in search of international social activists
• Partnership to test anti-HIV therapies for use in developing countries
• Taking blended value investing to the next step
12 Resources & Links
• Global leaders to examine new approaches to global problems at University for a
Night
• International conference to explore private sector solutions to poverty
• Women’s funds in the spotlight in September issue of Alliance
• Forbes names top donors on its list of 400 wealthiest
• October is International Philanthropy Month at Foundation Center
14 Your Ideas Wanted
www.globalgivingmatters.org comments@globalgivingmatters.org
Synergos
Global Giving Matters presents best practices and innovations in philanthropy and social investment around the
world. It is an initiative of The Synergos Institute’s Global Philanthropists Circle and the World Economic Forum,
under the direction of Adele Simmons, Senior Advisor to the Forum, and James M. Brasher III, Director, Global
Philanthropists Circle. Lynn Peebles is the lead writer. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors provides support for its
distribution. If you would like to subscribe to this newsletter, to unsubscribe, or to designate someone else in your
organization to receive it in your stead, contact us at comments@globalgivingmatters.org.
 Global Giving MATTERS

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Project Ulysses – Linking

global leadership training to community development

Following the merger that created the global services giant PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC) in 1998, the company began a quest for a new model of leadership training that
would build a worldwide network of executives able to capitalize on the diversity and
transnational nature of the firm's operations.

“It was clear that it was not going to be a standard business model with a standard
leader. We needed to take people outside of that box,” recalls Ralf Schneider, a PwC
partner based in Frankfurt who is head of the firm’s global talent development efforts.

What emerged was Project Ulysses, a

challenging voyage of discovery for Goals of Project Ulysses
promising partners in PwC that explic- · Identify and develop future leaders of PwC to take
itly links leadership development to on senior leadership responsibilities at national and
community development and channels international levels within 5-10 years
the resulting learning back to help the · Build a global network of PwC leadership talent
company meet its strategic goals.
· Increase PwC's capacity to capitalize on its diver-
Under the program, launched in 2001, sity and transnational nature of operation
the company sends small teams of PwC
· Prepare leaders to guide the firm in a global world
partners into developing countries to of ambiguity and tension between diverse interests
apply their business expertise to com- and stakeholder groups
plex social and economic challenges.
· Encourage the business sector to move towards a
The cross-cultural PwC teams work on
more responsible and sustainable business model
a pro bono basis in field assignments
for eight weeks with NGOs, commu-
nity-based organizations and intergov-
ernmental agencies in communities struggling with the effects of poverty, conflict and
environmental degradation.

Two-way learning in communities in need worldwide

In 2004, for example, 18 young partners from 17 different PwC territory firms around
the globe will be deployed in projects as diverse as landmine mitigation in Eritrea,
reintegration of ex-combatants in East Timor, small enterprise development in
Ecuador and strengthening community responses to HIV/AIDS in Uganda, a project
in partnership with the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in
Africa. This partnership, which began with a Ulysses project in Swaziland in 2001, has
been so successful that it has been replicated in Namibia and now Uganda.

Learning in Project Ulysses is designed to take place at multiple levels: at the indi-
vidual, team, and organizational level, according to Schneider. Knowledge gained is

September–October 2004 2
Global Giving MATTERS

transferred back to the organization and its clients once returning team members
resume their jobs, and in their formal debriefing sessions with PwC's global leadership.
These sessions provide a feedback loop that permits PwC to continuously refine the
Ulysses model to better meet the requirements of leadership in a dynamic global
organization.

Schneider acknowledged, for example, that when Ulysses was launched, participants
were heavily weighted toward partners from the US and Europe. To address that
imbalance, PwC now tries to ensure the geographic and cultural diversity of each
team-a task made easier by the global pool it draws from: nearly 8,000 partners in
member firms in 768 cities in 139 countries. Candidates for participation in Project
Ulysses are nominated by the head of each of the company's territorial offices around
the globe based on the partner's leadership potential.

Last year, 14 PwC partners worldwide were selected to take part in four teams assigned
to projects in Belize, Zambia, Namibia and Moldova. Participation, which typically
involves a commitment of up to three months, including training, fieldwork and
debriefing, is a serious responsibility, on the part of both the employee and the com-
pany.

Applying global business expertise in Southern Belize

For Brian McCann, a PwC client service partner from Boston who specializes in
mergers and acquisitions, the rewards-both personal and professional-of taking part in
Project Ulysses were profound. McCann found himself the only US member of the
2003 Belize team, which included PwC colleagues from Malaysia, Sweden and
Germany.

The mission of the team was to work with the Ya’axche Conservation Trust (YCT), an
NGO based in southern Belize, the local government, and the private sector in evalu-
ating the growth and income-generating potential of the eco-tourism market in the
region. Priorities for the team included building capacity in YCT, to better serve the
needs of the local indigenous Mayan residents. Economic conditions in southern Belize
are bleak, with 50% of the population unemployed and 75% earning less than $200 a
month.

On a personal level, McCann had to contend with unfamiliar and challenging living
conditions including an abundance of insects, barking dogs, getting around by bicycle,
and no air conditioning to temper the intense heat of his adopted home, Punta Gorda
(population 4,000), the largest town in the southern part of the country.

Despite challenging circumstances, and with only eight weeks to make an impact,
McCann says he and his colleagues “persevered and, as a team, delivered an out-
standing work product for our client." They located an international microgrant pro-
gram seeking a local partner in Belize, and wrote a proposal for YCT that would pro-
vide microfunding for 100 new and existing small businesses in the region over the
next two years.

September–October 2004 3
 Global Giving MATTERS

The Ulysses team also initiated a business training workshop for members of a Mayan
women's craft center, developed a business plan for YCT and its woodworking training
center, set up computerized accounting systems for the Trust, and evaluated revenue
generating opportunities for the Belize Forestry Department, according to McCann.

A Romanian partner gains insights from Zambia

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, in rural northern Zambia, the main assign-
ment for another PwC team in 2003 was to help a struggling agricultural youth
training facility run by the Catholic Church in Kasama to build capacity to generate
income and maintain stakeholder support.

Along with his teammates from Thailand, Australia and UK, Dinu Bumbacea, a PwC
partner from Romania, worked with the Elias Mutale Youth Training Centre in Kasama,
its funding partner, the United Nations Development Programme, and project manager,
Africare. The team also spent two weeks in the Copperbelt area of Western Zambia,
assisting the UN Global Compact on a strategy for economic diversification of the
region. Bumbacea said the experience gave him new insights into operating in a multi-
cultural environment and team and dealing with the public sector.

“So far, in my entire career with PwC, I

have worked extensively in the private
Lessons learned from Project Ulysses: one team-member’s view
sector. Well, working with the public sector
For PwC partner Brian McCann, several key learning points emerged from his is different. Their drivers and perceptions
Project Ulysses experience in Belize: are different. The lesson I've learned, even
· Cultural differences should be an enabler, not an inhibitor. “The cultural differ- though I thought I was aware of that before
ences of our team added to the quality, innovation and acceptance of our work. my Zambia experience, is that knowing what
This learning point needs to continue to be a part of the PwC culture.” drives your client is key for a consultant,"
· Four partners without a defined leader came together as a team and delivered.
said Bumbacea.
“In Belize, our experience was that where there was collaboration, there was At a project debriefing in London last
usually success.”
September, McCann, Bumbacea and other
· Leadership is about building sustained relationships. “What made our project Ulysses colleagues shared their experiences
successful was building relationships as a team, with our clients and with the in a two-hour session with the PwC Global
other stakeholders.” Board that McCann described as “highly
interactive and well-received by the board."
(See box on lessons learned at left.)

Building on new models of leadership training

Cari Caldwell, a London-based consultant on cultural diversity who also helped design
and implement Project Ulysses for PwC, emphasized “the need to really support the
participants throughout the process by helping them to make sense of the experience
personally and professionally.”

Such support is built into the program in the debriefing process and during several
weeks of cross-cultural training and coaching before Ulysses team members go into the
field. "Without giving participants new frames of reference, they may risk being ‘devel-

September–October 2004 4
 Global Giving MATTERS

opment tourists,’ or experience traditional development attitudes of being there to

‘show NGOs the way,’” Caldwell said. Alternatively, Ulysses promotes a “co-learning
environment and explicitly works with participants on their personal development
plans of what they want to learn from NGO partners.”

Helio Mattar – A catalyst for corporate social

responsibility in Brazil
Over the course of his distinguished career, Brazil's Helio Mattar has been a prominent force
for social and economic equity at home and abroad. A former corporate CEO and govern-
ment minister, Mattar now serves as president of two Brazilian NGOs: the Abrinq Foundation
for the Rights of Children (www.fundacaoabrinq.org.br), and the Akatu Institute for
Conscious Consumption (www.akatu.net). He is also a founder of the Ethos Institute for
Business and Social Responsibility (www.ethos.org.br).

Mattar is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Foundation Leaders Advisory
Group, and has been a featured participant in Synergos events such as University for a
Night, the Global Philanthropists Circle annual meeting in 2003 and GPC country visits to
Brazil. In the Schwab Foundation’s upcoming global summit on the future of social entrepre-
neurship November 4-6 in São Paulo, he will take part in a panel on the impact of government
policies on social innovation and entrepreneurship (www.schwabfound.org/global.htm).

Mattar recently spoke to Global Giving Matters about the growing corporate social responsi-
bility movement in Brazil, and the key role being played by the Ethos and Akatu Institutes in
moving that agenda forward.

Global Giving Matters: What was the state of corporate social responsibility when you founded
Ethos Institute?
Helio Mattar: Ethos was founded in February 1998 by a group of five businessmen with
the leadership of Oded Grajew, now President of Ethos and a founder of the World
Social Forum. Corporate social responsibility was not known as such at that time.

The most responsible companies were investing their private resources to support
work in the social arena, either through their own efforts, or through some NGO, and
already had a perception that, in order to have any socially transforming impact, it was
necessary to invest with a long-term vision. Others, were investing on a case-by-case
basis, with no long-term vision. There was no unifying vision of their relationship to
stakeholders and the question of a code of conduct, and values and principles were still
very rare at that point in time.

GGM: Has the movement caught on since then? What are some of the highlights in this
regard?

September–October 2004 5
Global Giving MATTERS

Mattar: The movement has certainly caught on since then. When Ethos started, we
had only 11 companies associated. Nowadays, Ethos is an association of about 850
companies, with sales that correspond to the value of 35% of the Brazilian National
Product.
In my view, it was essential for the movement to catch the interest of the media to give
positive visibility to the early leaders of CSR. The most important business magazine
in Brazil, for instance, started a special issue on “good corporate citizenship” and gave
visibility to the best companies. Ethos also developed a mechanism called Indicators of
Social Responsibility (available on the Ethos website – www.ethos.org.br), that could
be used to evaluate the performance of companies in this regard.

GGM: What are the greatest challenges to effective CSR in Brazil right now?

Mattar: In my view, the greatest challenge is to involve consumers and investors in the
process of valuing companies, taking social responsibility into consideration. In Brazil,
both groups are already very sensitive to the role of companies not only as productive
agents, but also as important social agents.
For instance, when asked about the role of large companies, 44% of Brazilian con-
sumers say that in addition to producing goods and services, generating employment,
and paying taxes, companies should be guided by higher ethical standards, going
beyond what is demanded by law, and actively contributing to the development of
society.

This suggests that consumers already have a perception that the enormous power of
companies carries enormous responsibility. And, according to research of the Akatu
Institute, consumers are willing to punish or to reward companies based on their social
responsibility activities.

In order to deepen consumers and investors perceptions, Akatu was started within
Ethos three years ago. Akatu’s mission is to educate and mobilize people to be more
conscious in their consumption – to recognize that they have the power to choose
which companies to buy from on the basis of demonstrations of corporate social
responsibility.

More recently, another institution was started by Ethos, called UniEthos, to build
capacity for social responsibility. UniEthos works with managers in the corporate
sector on the concept and practice of CSR. The aim is to develop methods and tech-
nologies that may be transferred to universities and consulting firms in order to help
promote CSR in Brazil.

GGM: Your work with Akatu seems very complementary with the work of Ethos Institute. By
raising consumer consciousness of the value of sustainable goods and services, for example, you
can help keep the pressure on the business community to respond to the demand. Was this delib-
erate on your part in founding Akatu and Ethos?
Mattar: Indeed, it was deliberate that the same group of businessmen who co-founded
Ethos three years ago decided to found Akatu. My perception was that there would be

September–October 2004 6
 Global Giving MATTERS
Global Giving Roundup
Overviews of best
practices around
the world and
links to learn more
about them
Links to websites with
more details are available
at the online edition of
Global Giving Matters at
www.globalgivingmatters.org
a limit in the investment of time, energy and money in CSR on the part of companies,
if the consumers and investors did not consider CSR as important as price, quality, dis-
tribution, innovation and service in their purchase and investment decisions.
Akatu is working on a system that will enable companies to show what they are doing
in the area of corporate social responsibility, using the present state of CSR in Brazil as
a reference point. In this way, the best companies will have an opportunity to demon-
strate to consumers that they have a higher than average CSR and be rewarded for
that.
As a follow up to this work, we are doing research to identify what issues in CSR are
most important to consumers and create a scale that would allow companies to be cate-
gorized in four or five different groups according to their performance in CSR. The
aim is to provide a mechanism for consumers to compare companies and to take CSR
into consideration in their acts of consumption and investment.
GGM: Ethos Institute took part in the Global Compact Leaders Summit in New York in June
2004. Can you describe the Institute’s involvement in this effort?
Mattar: Ethos became active early on in the Global Compact as part of a strategy to
involve Brazilian companies on a global basis in CSR. There will be no corporate social
responsibility movement if it is not a global movement. Toward this end, Ethos was
able to have more than 200 Brazilian companies committed to the Global Compact in
the first year of its operation. In June, Ethos participated in the New York summit,
reported on developments in Brazil, and helped establish the Global Compact's tenth
commitment in the area of corruption (www.unglobalcompact.org ).
Microfinance plus: Unitus partnership to aid urban poor in Kenya
Unitus (www.unitus.com), a nonprofit organization that helps microfinance institutions
(MFIs) grow to scale, has announced a $1.2 million investment in an innovative part-
nership with Jamii Bora, an MFI that serves some of Kenya’s poorest populations.
“Jamii Bora is one of the most exciting MFIs we’ve seen on any continent. They offer
microcredit loans, extremely low-cost healthcare insurance, alcoholism rehabilitation,
and even housing mortgages for former slum dwellers,” said Geoff Davis, Unitus CEO.
Unitus, co-founded by Mike Murray, a former Microsoft executive and member of the
Synergos Global Philanthropists Circle, carefully selects the highest potential MFIs in
developing countries and partners with them to accelerate their growth and help them
become self-sustaining banks for the poor. Unitus estimates that Kenyan MFIs cur-
rently reach only about 5 percent of the potential market, leaving four million prospec-
September–October 2004 7
Global Giving MATTERS

tive clients without access to financial services. The partnership, which aims to help
Jamii Bora grow from 70,000 to over 500,000 clients, includes a $1 million line of
credit and a $200,000 grant for staff training, and advanced computer systems to sup-
port their planned expansion. Jamii Bora was launched when 50 street beggars pleaded
with Ingrid Munro, an African-based UN housing expert, to help them improve their
lives. Many of those helped by Jamii Bora come from Nairobi’s Mathare and Soweto
slums; the Kenyan MFI is unusual in that its staff is composed almost exclusively of
previous borrowers with a firm understanding of clients’ needs. Unitus has partnered
with MFIs in India and Mexico, helping them double the number of families they
serve. Mike Murray and Unitus were profiled in the February-March 2003 issue of
Global Giving Matters.

CSR gains a platform in the Asia Pacific region

The newly formed Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (www.centreforcsr.org.sg)
and the Social Venture Network Asia (www.geocities.com/svnasia/) organized the First
Asia Pacific CSR Series in Singapore in July. The conference brought together dele-
gates from Singapore and across the region from business, academia, government and
civil society. The event featured sessions on socially responsible investing, bench-
marking and communicating CSR, diversity in the workplace and cross-sector partner-
ships, and provided a rare opportunity for leaders in CSR in Asia to network. A high-
light of the conference was the launch of the Asia Pacific CSR group, comprised of
nonprofit CSR organizations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand. The objective of the group is to share
knowledge and enhance awareness of CSR in the region. One of the outcomes of the
conference was the establishment of the Singapore Country Network for the United
Nations Global Compact, which aims to encourage local companies to sign on to the 10
principles of the compact. The Centre for CSR's membership includes SingTel, SGX,
ST Engineering, Deloitte & Touche, British Petroleum, Readers’ Digest and
Microsoft.

Philanthropist’s $10 million gift to provide safe haven for persecuted

scholars
The Institute of International Education (IIE – www.iie.org) has announced a $10 mil-
lion gift from philanthropist and economist Henry Kaufman to support the organiza-
tion’s scholar rescue fund, which aids persecuted scholars around the world. The fund
provides life- and career-saving assistance to scholars who are persecuted in their home
countries, offering grants for them to continue their work at other institutions. The
program, launched in 2002, has awarded grants to more than 50 scholars from 27 dif-
ferent countries. The gift is the largest single donation from an individual in IIE’s his-
tory. Kaufman, who attributes his commitment to international education to his experi-
ences growing up in post-World War I Germany, will present the award at IIE’s 85th
anniversary dinner in New York, where he will be honored with the institute’s Stephen
P. Duggan Award for International Understanding. “Recent world events demonstrate
how urgent it still is today to protect scholars who are the focus of attack and persecu-

September–October 2004 8
Global Giving MATTERS

tion, and to defend scholarship and freedom of thought around the globe,” Kaufman
said. (Institute of International Education, September 15, 2004)

Focus on fundraising in India

Indian fundraisers moved a step closer to the formation of a nationwide association at a
recent conference in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The conference, held at the Meenakshi
Hospital and Research Centre (S.R. Trust) in Madurai, was cosponsored by the hospital
and the Centre for the Advancement of Philanthropy in Mumbai, New Delhi’s
Sampradaan Indian Cenre for Philanthropy, and the South Asian Fund Raising Group of
New Delhi. The two-day conference in July attracted more than 100 fundraisers, who
discussed the current status of philanthropy and fundraising in India. Case studies
included presentations on in-kind donations by the Bangalore Hospice Trust and the
fundraising model of the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore. Other topics
included an assessment of civil society in India, corporate social responsibility and cor-
porate giving in India. Representatives of several of the sponsoring organizations left
the conference with a plan to spur the formation of a nationwide association of
fundraisers to advance understanding of fundraising principles and methods among the
subcontinent’s practitioners. More details on the conference can be obtained by con-
tacting mmmhrc@sancharnet.in, or bala@mmhrc.com.

Heifer Project International tapped for 2004 Hilton Prize

Heifer Project International (www.heifer.org ) is the recipient of the $1 million Conrad N.
Hilton Humanitarian Prize, the world’s largest humanitarian award, presented annually
since 1996 to a nonprofit that has made significant contributions to eliminate human
suffering. The award, named for the hotel entrepreneur, will be presented at the
Hilton humanitarian conference in New York October on 28. Heifer Project, based
in Arkansas, provides livestock to needy families worldwide to help them feed and sup-
port themselves. With assets in excess of $2 billion, the Hilton Foundation (www.
hiltonfoundation.org ) has distributed more than $400 million for philanthropic projects
through the world. Approximately 50% of its grants fund international projects. Past
winners include Doctors Without Borders and the International Rescue Committee.
(Associated Press, September 24, 2004)

Gleitsman Foundation in search of international social activists

The Gleitsman Foundation (www.gleitsman.org ) is seeking nominations for its 2005
International Activist Award, which honors individuals in the international community
who have inspired change and motivated others in the realm of social activism. The
California-based foundation was established by former business executive Alan L.
Gleitsman in 1989. The $100,000 International Activist Award is presented every other
year, alternating with the Citizen Activist Award, presented in the United States. Past
recipients of the International Activist Award include Nelson Mandela, Fazle Abed and
Muhammad Yunus. The deadline for nominations is November 5, 2004.

September–October 2004 9
Global Giving MATTERS

Partnership to test anti-HIV therapies for use in developing countries

The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) plans to work with the nonprofit
International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) to test several anti-HIV compounds
developed by GSK in topical form for possible use as microbicides. Microbicides are
considered a promising prevention tool in developing countries, where women’s
socioeconomic status and dependence on men make them particularly vulnerable to
unsafe sex practices. “This is precisely the kind of collaboration needed between the
public and private sectors to develop innovative ways to prevent HIV,” said Richard
Klausner, executive director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health
program. The Gates Foundation is a major contributor to IPM, which has also gar-
nered contributions from the governments of Norway, Denmark, Ireland, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as The Rockefeller Foundation, World
Bank and the UN Populatoin Fund. Established in 2001, IPM seeks to deliver a safe
and effective microbicide for women in developing countries as soon as possible.
(International Partnership for Microbicides/GlaxoSmithKline, September 24, 2004)

Taking blended value investing to the next step

The challenges and rewards of “blended value” investing – a new approach that seeks
financial, social and environmental returns – were discussed in depth at a conference at
World Economic Forum headquarters in Geneva in September. The workshop attracted
more than 80 practitioners from academia, multi-lateral aid agencies, civil society and
foundations, who gathered to explore ways to scale up the growing movement toward
blended value investing. The amount of capital available for such investment – esti-
mated at $2.3 trillion in the US alone – is increasing, but remains a small portion of
the $17 trillion total capital market.

Participants included a diverse array of practitioners, representing large institutions as

well as individuals who have created microcredit funds at the local level. Whatever
their background, most agreed that making successful blended value investments is
even more challenging than investing solely for profit. The workshop focused on
investments that are not publicly traded and served to clarify the needs and interests of
different types of investors within this field. Participants shared their own experiences
with blended value investing, exploring topics such as the value for donors of “smart
subsidies” as a way to build capacity to help emerging institutions become profitable;
difficulties in packaging blended value investments; the challenges of matching capital
with a particular project; the role of government regulations; and the task of measuring
performance. The event was sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation, the
International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group and the World Economic
Forum; a conference report will be available on the Forum’s website
(www.weforum.org ) in December. In the meantime, additional background on blended
value can be found at www.blendedvalue.org .

September–October 2004 10
 Global Giving MATTERS

Resources & Links

Activities, web- Global leaders to examine new approaches to global problems at University
sites and other for a Night 2004
cutting-edge The Synergos Institute will convene more than 400 world leaders from all sectors of

information for society – business, government and civil society – at its annual University for a Night
(www.universityforanight.org )event in New York on November 16, 2004. In an evening
global givers
of strategic and substantive discussion, participants will debate how best to address the
Links to websites with multiple and interconnected social and economic challenges that threaten peace and
more details are available prosperity. Participants will meet over dinner for focused discussions on specific topics
at the online edition of
Global Giving Matters at
under the theme Innovative Approaches to Complex Global Problems. These dinner discus-
www.globalgivingmatters.org sions are led by over 50 “Distinguished Faculty” – leaders from around the world with
particular knowledge and experience to share.

Plenary speakers will include Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik; Mario
Conejo Maldonado, Mayor of Otavalo, Ecuador; Louis Willem “Tex” Gunning, President
of Unilever Bestfoods, Asia; and Noeleen Heyzer, the first Executive Director from the
South to head the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

David Rockefeller and Richard Gere will present the Synergos 2004 Bridging
Leadership Awards: the honor for individual leadership will go to John C. Whitehead,
Chair of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and former US Secretary
of State. For organizational leadership, the award will go to the Foundation for
Community Development (FDC) of Mozambique, and will be accepted by FDC
Chairperson and former First Lady of Mozambique and of South Africa,
Graça Machel.

International conference to explore private sector solutions to poverty

Eradicating Poverty through Profit: Making Business Work for the Poor is the theme of a
major international conference on private sector approaches to development, to be
held in San Francisco, December 12-14, 2004. The event, organized by the World
Resources Institute with support from the World Economic Forum and a range of other
partners, will bring together leading corporations from North and South; international
agencies working on pro-poor policies and projects; and entrepreneurs-business and
social-who are alleviating poverty through innovative approaches. Featured speakers
will include C.K. Prahalad, whose research and writing have generated wide debate on
marketing to the “bottom of the pyramid.” For more information on the conference,
visit povertyprofit.wri.org . A four-week virtual conference, conducted by dot-ORG and
hosted by Global Knowledge for Development will permit a broad range of stakeholders
from around the globe to learn about the proceedings in San Francisco and to
exchange ideas and views on this important topic.

September–October 2004 11
Global Giving MATTERS

Women’s funds in the spotlight in September issue of Alliance

The September 2004 issue of Alliance magazine takes an in-depth look at women’s
funds. Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, sets out to
challenge the status quo with her vision of feminist philanthropy, and the Sigrid
Rausing Trust’s Jo Andrews weighs in on the limited options available for funders
wishing to help women. Also in the September issue, Nichole Etchart examines how the
NESst Venture Fund, originally developed in Central Europe, has been adapted for
replication in Chile, and Louise Fréchette, the UN Deputy Secretary-General, assesses
progress in meeting the Millenium Development Goals. Alliance is a publication of
Allavida (www.allavida.org ), an international development organization that works to
enable local action

Forbes names top donors on its list of 400 wealthiest

Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the 400 wealthiest people includes a report on
America’s biggest donors and how much they have given to philanthropic causes.
Forbes reports that Richard Goldman – who, along with his late wife Rhoda, founded
the Goldman Environmental Prize (www.goldmanprize.org ) – could have made the list
this year, but extensive philanthropic giving reduced his income. The Goldman Prize,
founded in 1990, is the world’s largest award honoring grassroots environmentalists.

October is International Philanthropy Month at Foundation Center

The Foundation Center has declared October 2004 International Philanthropy Month,
with a corresponding focus on this topic in its programs. Highlights will include
expanded content on the Center’s website (www.fdncenter.org/focus/international),
including a new area on US funding for international causes; international news from
the Center’s Philanthropy News Digest; research and statistics on international funding
and links to organizations and resources in the field. The Center will also offer online
highlights from International Grantmaking III, to be issued in November, its latest
update on international giving by foundations. A special section on international phi-
lanthropy and youth will provide information on study-abroad programs, scholarships
and volunteer opportunities.

September–October 2004 12
 Global Giving MATTERS

Your Ideas Wanted

Global Giving Matters aims to present information on best practices and innovations in
philanthropy and social investment around the world. We encourage you to send us:
• Ideas about issues or people you would like to learn more about
• Examples of your own philanthropy
• Comments about this issue.
Write to us at comments@globalgivingmatters.org .

Global Giving Matters does not present solicitations of support for particular
initiatives or organizations.

The Synergos Institute The World Economic Forum Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
9 East 69th Street 91-93 route de la Capite 437 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10021 CH-1223 Cologny/Geneva New York, NY 10022-7001
USA Switzerland USA
tel +1 (212) 517-4900 tel +41 (22) 869-1212 tel +1 (212) 812-4330
fax +1 (212) 517-4815 fax +41 (22) 786-2744 fax + 1 (212) 812-4335
www.synergos.org www.weforum.org www.rockpa.org

September–October 2004 13