Irish donors are often uncomfortable talking about their acts of charity. The Philanthropist of the Year Awards are aiming to change the culture of secrecy, writes Michael Kelly.
There's something about the Irish psyche that makes us a little uncomfortable with the idea of an awards ceremony that honours philanthropists. It's almost as if we regard the charitable acts to be somehow cheapened by the very act of letting people know about them. The Community Foundation for Ireland, a donor services and grant-making organisation, hosts the inaugural Philanthropist of the Year Awards on December 3rd, and its chief executive, Tina Roche, is all too aware of the difficulties of getting donors to talk about their contributions, never mind accept accolades for them.
"There is a mindset in Ireland where people like to give privately, but we are seeing an increase in people willing to talk about it," says Roche. "I think this is a natural outcome of the fact that philanthropy is becoming a bigger part of our culture here. It's really important that we have people who are willing to talk about it because it inspires others to get involved."
That there is untapped potential in Ireland's dormant wealth is without question - excluding the value of principal private residences there are more than 33,000 millionaires in Ireland and the value of accumulated wealth now stands at an estimated €804 billion. The problem is that the wealthy are not coughing up as much as they do elsewhere. "If our wealthiest citizens contributed at the same level as in Britain we would more than double our rate of giving to over €1 billion annually," says Roche. "Our job is to get the wealthy to think strategically about their wealth. The new philanthropists are self-made, lots of them are in their 50s or 60s - when the economy took off, their businesses thrived. Once they have looked after their children, they start to review their wealth and wonder what to do with it."
Nominations for the awards were invited from beneficiaries of philanthropy, including community and voluntary organisations, charities, welfare groups, arts and sports bodies, and foundations. Crucially, the nominees had to consent to their names going forward. Almost 50 nominations were received. A judging panel - consisting of Deirdre Purcell, Eamon Coughlan, Conor O'Clery and Liz O'Donnell - will decide the winners.
"We're happy with the level of nominations, considering it's our first year," says Roche. "What was a bit of an eye-opener for us was the feedback we got from the charities themselves: that the vast majority of their income is still from individuals with monthly direct debits. We would have thought that philanthropy played a bigger part than it does."
While the philanthropic enterprises of the mega-rich - Chuck Feeney, Warren Buffett, Gates, O'Reilly, Smurfit et al - grab the headlines, there are also altruists out there working with more modest means, and, arguably, their giving is all the more impressive as a result. Harry Byrne, a former assistant managing director of Guinness Ireland, established a "modest endowment fund" with the Community Foundation following the death of his daughter, Alison. "She had a brain haemorrhage at 32 years of age. It was a very traumatic thing for our family. Alison was a doctor, so I thought it would be worthwhile to look at funding medical-related projects. I never wanted to publicise it and I am certainly not looking for plaudits. I would much prefer to be anonymous but I can see the dilemma for the foundation in that publicising its work encourages others to get involved. It's not like I feel particularly smug about what I am doing, but I do like to think it's worthwhile."
Jim Callery, chairman of the Westward Group, established a donor-advised fund with the Community Foundation in 2005 to assist community projects in his native Co Roscommon. "People tend to think about philanthropy as directing huge amounts of money to the third world. But it can be about directing smaller sums to local efforts and helping to get things going in the community. This is vital, because the loss of community is something that has happened in every part of the world where wealth has been created. A lot of people made a lot of money in Ireland in the past decade, but other than a whole lot of building what has it achieved?"
Callery is aware of a slightly sceptical view of philanthropy, especially when it's publicised. "I don't care what people think," he says frankly. "If it's doing good that's the main thing. A lot of people seem to think it's some sort of tax ruse. The money may be tax-deductible but you're still giving it out - that's the bottom line. There are lots of things you could put your money into that are tax-deductible and would give you a return on your investment, like education and property, for example."
Niall Mellon made his first million before he was 25 and now runs the Niall Mellon Township Trust. He believes that philanthropists need to talk about their activities, even though it might be deeply uncomfortable for them to do so. "I had the privilege of meeting Chuck Feeney in the past few months and I asked him how he felt about the publicity surrounding Conor O'Clery's book. The thing that he cherished most was his anonymity, so to reveal himself the way he has in the book is his final big sacrifice. He is doing that because he wants to influence others. To this day I find it very hard to be in the public eye talking about the charity, but every time I feel hesitant about going on TV or radio I think about the people who will benefit."
The Philanthropist of the Year Awards take place on Monday, December 3rd at Longfield's Hotel, Dublin