Discovering purpose through philanthropy

Posted on May 23, 2024 by Amir Pasic

Dean Amir Pasic poses for photo with graduating student at commencement.

Recently, the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy welcomed students, faculty, family, and friends to one of our favorite days of the year: a special ceremony honoring our newest graduates. Dean Amir Pasic offered congratulations, charges, and challenges to these philanthropy and nonprofit professionals.

We have many reasons to celebrate today. We are marking the 37^th anniversary of the founding of the school’s predecessor, the Center on Philanthropy. This is our twelfth graduation celebration since becoming a school—and my tenth since becoming dean. We are celebrating the dedication and passion of our graduates, who will soon embark on the next steps in their journeys to make the world a better place.

Graduates, today we will celebrate your many fine and distinguished accomplishments. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished and thank you for all that you have done for our school. You have helped advance this young field of philanthropic studies and you have set the standards for the many graduates who will come after you. I think you appreciate the view that one does not enter a field to have one’s individuality dissolved into a bland commonality of sameness, with so many similar others who share a field. Our field, being a new one, lifts up the expectation that each and every individual is prepared to make the field their own and to carry it forward. We stand ready to support you and to cheer you on.

Today and as you go forth into your lives of consequence, you stand on the shoulders of those who came before you, those who helped create and build the field you adopted and will now advance.

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Taking it personally – bridging the private and the public through philanthropy

Posted on April 30, 2024 by Amir Pasic

An illustration of a typewriter with paper inserted that reads: "Everyone has a story."

When you say, “It’s personal,” you may be hoping to end the conversation, but sometimes it’s an opening to go deeper. In philanthropy, it can be an invitation to innovate and recast the way we see what is private and what is public, or simply express a loving sentiment. Think of the many inspirational stories of philanthropy that help define who a person is, or how a family is perceived, maybe over many generations. Personal stories can be private, but they also play a role in building, and when needed, rebuilding the public realm. Perhaps they are even more necessary to connect us to a common purpose than we realize.

Too often we regard stories as “mere anecdotes.” Anyone can spin stories and interpretations, but “serious” authorities tell us that data, systems, strategies, and procedures are what “serious” philanthropy is all about. The policies that regulate philanthropy help reinforce impersonal processes involved in assuring technical compliance. The state often uses the law to declare that philanthropy is defined negatively — legitimate donations cannot have a private benefit. Maybe the state is jealous about who gets to advance the public good, but occasionally it does cheerlead for philanthropy.

Most definitions of philanthropy connect private actions and the public good. When we have public actions for the public good, we have the state and when we have private actions for the private good, we have commerce. Of course, there are many gray areas, but philanthropy is peculiar in that it locates itself squarely in the gray area between the private and the public. And the stories we tell about philanthropy, whether they use the word or not, play an important role in designing how we conceive and connect the private and public realms.

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The Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy in Latvia

Posted on April 11, 2024 by Julianna Giannoutsou

Panorama aerial view of Riga, capital and the largest city of Latvia. — Aerial view of Riga, capital and the largest city of Latvia.

Latvia is a former Soviet country located in the Eastern part of Europe with a population of 1.8 million people and a GDP per capita of $21,779 in 2022 (according to the World Bank). It gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. After 50 years of Communist rule, the country faced challenges in establishing a democracy and entering the market economy. Today, after more than 30 years of independence, the philanthropic sector is emerging, and the people of Latvia are slowly embracing the new feeling of empowerment to engage in civil society and extending their philanthropic aspirations to people beyond their immediate family.

The nonprofit sector in Latvia has experienced vast changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union. There were only 50 nonprofit organizations in Latvia in 1991. The number grew rapidly in the following years. An important factor was that Latvian tax law that was established in 1995 allowed donors to make tax deductible donations to these organizations.

One of the major contributors to the development of civil society in Latvia was George Soros, a Hungarian-American billionaire investor, philanthropist, and political activist who has been known for his significant contributions to promoting democracy, human rights, and civil society in Eastern Europe through his Open Society Foundations. Other international institutions have also supported development of the nonprofit sector in the country, such as the World Bank, Queen Juliana Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, and the European Free Economy Fund. However, since Latvia entered the European Union (EU) in 2004 and gained access to structural and cohesion funds, international donations to Latvia have substantially declined.

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The powerful impact of research on philanthropy and civil society

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Anwar Khan

The American Muslim community continues to grow, as do the number of American Muslim nonprofits. Knowing and understanding American Muslim philanthropy is important to developing and better serving American Muslim civil society and the larger American civil society. This is why the research from the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative (MPI) and other institutions is important.

MPI has done research on Muslim Philanthropy in the US in a climate where there is Islamophobia. According to a study conducted by the ACLU, giving to U.S. Islamic charities has been equated to supporting terrorism. At this time, it is important to research where Muslim philanthropy is sent and how it is raised. Even within the Muslim community, there are myths about where and how Muslim Philanthropy is spent.

MPI’s Muslim American Giving 2021 research was groundbreaking, as it shattered many myths perpetuated in the Muslim community about American Muslim Philanthropy. This research was sponsored by Islamic Relief USA, which contributed to the questions that were asked of the recipients.

MYTH # 1

Most of the American Muslim Philanthropy goes overseas.

The MPI research showed that overseas relief and humanitarian causes comprised only 12.81% of faith-based overseas relief; most American Muslim Philanthropy is spent in the US. This myth may have developed due to the greater transparency associated with giving to an international cause or a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, compared to U.S. houses of worship. The former is required to publish their information in the IRS 990 tax filing while the latter is not. For many years, international Muslim relief organizations have held many public events, especially during crises, which may have given the impression that a lot of funds were going towards these causes. However, as MPI’s research shows, those funds comprised only 12.81% of American Muslim’s giving.

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American Muslim Philanthropy: A Spiritual Experience

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Afshan Malik

As a nonprofit professional, I discovered that the world of fundraising and philanthropy is filled with stories of everyday people making positive changes in their community and establishing a legacy that transcends their own lives. The Muslim Philanthropy Initiative published a study on Motivations of Giving, which dives into reasons why American Muslims are philanthropically engaged. This in-depth study highlights just how strong American Muslim charitable contributions are within the fabric of American philanthropy. As a faith-based giving demographic, Muslims consider the religious and spiritual incentives of giving when deciding where to give, how to give, and even when to give.

In my career as Director of Development, my work is based on bridging the gap between individuals who have the capacity or desire to give and the organization whose work is meaningful to them. The American Muslim philanthropic scene is thriving. American Muslim nonprofits are brimming with even more potential as local organizations professionalize their efforts in not only fundraising but also overall management of their programs, personnel, and operations. Donors are increasingly seeking standards of transparency, accountability, and ihsan, an Arabic word used to describe the excellence and beautification of behavior.

In a recent interview for Religion News, I was asked how fundraising and development professionals in American Muslim nonprofits navigate their work during Islam’s most sacred time of the year. Where is the balance between one’s own spiritual life and work obligations in Ramadan? What happens when everyone behind the scenes and on public platforms is fasting during the day and praying at night?

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