Silicon Valley One - Summer 2008 - (Page 4) big ideas Trends and innovations in philanthropy Innovative ways to channel grant money overseas he headlines seem endless: Earthquakes in China. Cyclones in Burma. Genocide in Darfur. Fortunately, those stories are quickly followed up by news on the international effort to provide relief. Despite the growing economic uncertainty in this country, Americans are willing to dig deep to help those slammed by natural and man-made disasters worldwide. International giving by U.S. foundations was $3.8 billion in 2005, up from $3.2 billion in 2002, according to a report by the Foundation Center with cooperation from the Council on Foundations. That figure rose sharply to an estimated $6 billion in 2006, chiefly as a result of Warren Buffett’s decision to start giving the bulk of his $44 billion Berkshire Hathaway fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to Josie Atienza, assistant director of research at the Foundation Center. Firm figures are not yet available for 2007, but “most likely the upward trend will continue,” Atienza says. Silicon Valley Community Foundation, for example, distributed $2 million in international grants in 2007 and about that much in the first quarter of 2008 alone. Sometimes, though, getting those dollars into the hands of overseas aid workers in a timely manner can be a serious challenge. Act Globally By Paul Wilner International giving presents a maze of regulations, further complicated by the heightened security concerns of a post-9/11 world. Charitable foundations and individual donors must not only consider the merits of potential grantees but also comply with regulations designed to prevent the diversion of charitable assets to the financing of violence and terrorism. Things are further complicated by an “equivalency determination’’ requirement, a good-faith assessment that a foreign organization is the equivalent of a U.S. public charity. “While T 4 one innovation through philanthropy www.siliconvalleycf.org http://www.siliconvalleycf.org
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