Beyond charity

There is no guarantee that when money matches words,words will match action. In philanthropy,the non-sequitur between money and action is rather tangibly pronounced. Yet,with India conferring the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace,Disarmament and Development on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,it is an apt moment to survey the state and evolving ways of philanthropy today. There is a justifiable sense of global awe about the Gates Foundation,and not just because of the magnitude of its projects or its approximately 27 billion endowment.

Much of that admiration,as well as most of the criticism,has to do with the modus operandi of the foundation. In following Americas many canonised philanthropists,Bill Gates applied his business acumen from Microsoft. And that appears to have made all the difference,apart from the money. The Gates Foundation is easily distinguished from many older ones by its transparency which allows benefactors to oversee how their money is being spent. While the foundations maximisation of return on investment has been criticised for its investments in companies that pollute or dont sell medicine to developing countries,thereby sustaining the very cycle of poverty and disease the foundation fights,it ultimately decided to stay put. In philanthropy,its far easier to determine what to do than how to do. The Gates Foundation could be demonstrable proof of how the harmonisation of philanthropic donations and professional management can change millions of lives.

Indias had renowned philanthropists,but not often enough sustained and ably managed philanthropy. While the difference corporate charity can make to society is universally acknowledged,theres far less recognition of combining idealism with professionalism. Therein the structure to a magnanimous vision becomes whole.