“Active Philanthropy” is a form of philanthropic engagement which is not limited to giving financial support, but also encompasses an active role in achieving a particular goal. So a donor might, for example, use his professional experience to help an organisation draw up its business plan, or provide both advice and practical support in other matters.
The target group is primarily individuals and families, but also institutions, who want to use their resources in a strategic and sustainable fashion for good causes. We direct our services at donors in Germany and Europe in general.
Active Philanthropy offers donors a platform to exchange ideas and experiences. With our information packs, workshops and expeditions we aim to make people aware of the idea of strategic philanthropy and generate enthusiasm for it.
In everything that we do we attach particular worth to a healthy exchange between donors and to them learning with and from one another. We believe that valuable experiences and information are in this way provided to everyone involved.
It is our belief that the strategic implementation of resources, whether they be money or professional experience, increases the impact of charitable engagement.
We are a charitable company (gGmbH). Our work is made possible by the support of several families of entrepreneurs who are themselves involved in philanthropic work. They support Active Philanthropy both financially and with advice and practical help.
At present there is a relatively large number of firms offering donors help with legal, wealth- and administration-related questions.
Active Philanthropy sets itself apart from these providers through its focus on questions of content and strategy – that is, the questions that are at the heart of philanthropic engagement. Furthermore we are high-profile industry players in Europe who stand for a new, active and entrepreneurial culture of philanthropy.
Unfortunately we cannot help organisations with their fundraising activities, as this would go against our role as a neutral institution and contravene our stated charitable aim.
No, Active Philanthropy does not provide financial support. Active Philanthropy is itself financed by a small group of private sponsors who also provide advice and practical help. Thanks to this support we are able to pursue our aim of informing donors and getting them involved.
When we recommend projects to our clients to be supported we stay with organisations that are already known to us or which have been recommended through our network of whose quality we are certain.
Charitable organisations with which we are not familiar are nevertheless very welcome to send us information about their work. In the event that there are points of contact between the work of such an organisation and ours and certain qualitative standards are met, we will happily make contact.
We are always on the lookout for active and engaged donors who are interested in telling their stories and letting others share their knowledge and experiences. One way of doing this is through the “Donors’ stories” section on our website. Alternatively there are workshops to become involved with that provide a forum for exchange, or our publications. If you feel that this applies to you, we would be delighted to hear from you, either by Email to info@activephilanthropy.org or by telephone on +49 (0)30 240 88 240.
