“We are at the onset of the big bang of philanthropy”. As Lester Salamon, a professor at Johns Hopkins University has described the socially historical moment that we are experiencing in America and Europe, speaking Friday in San Patrignano at the Positive Economy Forum 2015.
«When I speak of Philanthropy I refer to private resources donated for socio environmental purposes. Today we always see world wide new protagonists and new tools emerging».
As he explained in his book “America’s Nonprofit Sector: A. Primer”, «today goes beyond the mere largesse, which today is outdated. First he who gave did not expect a return, but today there is a lot more attention paid to the results of social or environmental realities and to produce a gain for donors».
A new philanthropy that is based on «new investment funds and new tools of social finance, which seeks a return socially and financially, with a precise measurement of the results achieved». A philanthropy that now needs to be more «publicized, expanded, as you can do thanks to a forum like this, and encouragment. We will also need to lower the thresholds of risk for investors and build the skills needed for the management of funds».