From philanthropy to social investment: a new approach for the business sector

Philanthropy – the voluntary giving of money for community purposes by individuals, communal and religious institutions, and the business sector, sometimes described as 'the venture capital of social development' – has been one of the main sources of social progress and charitable activity in western societies. One consequence of the knowledge economy is to give a new relevance to philanthropy. The worldwide discovery of the concept of corporate citizenship is generating new forms of social investment which provide an important and creative opportunity for the corporate sector to extend the ethical dimension of its community role. Forces driving this change include: Greater expectations of the role of corporate citizenship and of corporate philanthropy, and a worldwide renewal of interest in the idea of ‘the civil society’; New patterns of wealth creation and distribution; Reductions in public sector spending and government activity; Growing use by government of grant-making mechanisms for its funding processes; Growth of the community foundation movement; and Application of the new 'information revolution' technologies to the field. The Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment at Swinburne University will offer practical professional skills development in this emerging field.