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| By Bokwe |Dec 1st, 2010

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WEALTHY South Africans are among the world’s most generous philanthropists, motivated by a sense of ubuntu and the fact that SA is one of the world’s most unequal societies, according to an Absa report released yesterday.
The report is the first snapshot of global philanthropy that uses money and time as metrics, said Absa Wealth, whose affiliate Barclays Wealth drew up the report. It noted that “SA along with the US, Ireland and India lead the way as countries that donate significant amounts of money and time to charitable causes”.
The report, Global Giving: The Culture of Philanthropy, said SA was the second-most charitable country, behind the US. And in giving up time to help the less fortunate, SA ranked fourth, with Ireland and India joint first.
Nomkhita Nqweni, an executive at Absa Wealth, said: “The concept of philanthropy is universal. However, a strong sense of ubuntu, and the inequality between the rich and poor in SA, are the driving forces locally.” Wealthy South Africans feel compelled to do something through philanthropy to help bridge the divide in society, she said.
The report surveyed 2000 “high net worth” individuals from 20 countries, looking at the money and time they dedicated to charities and good causes.
High net worth individuals were defined as those who had more than £1m in investable assets. Of the 2000 interviewees, 200 had more than £10m.
Respondents were drawn from around the world, including Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
The survey identified two groups of givers: benefactors, who are the most generous with money, and volunteers, who are more inclined to devote their time.
Of the benefactor donors, 41% of respondents in the US said philanthropy was one of their top three spending priorities, followed by 37% from SA and 32% from Saudi Arabia.
With regard to those who spent five hours a week or more on charity, Ireland tied with India, with both countries having 20% of respondents confirming yes, followed by the US, where 17% of respondents said yes.

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andersona@bdfm.co.za

http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=128267

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