MediaWatch: The World Around Us

from U.S. News and World Reports:

Women’s growing financial power changes the world of philanthropy

Angelina Jolie isn’t the only woman wielding her philanthropic power. As a result of their growing earning power, wealth, and financial control, women have surpassed men as the biggest givers, leading to shifts in how the philanthropic world operates.

from the Wall Street Journal:

Social Entrepreneurship is Hot, but Finding Funding Still a Challenge

Social entrepreneurship programs are sprouting all over on college campuses right now, appealing to idealistic student entrepreneurs who want to build ventures that make both profit and a social difference.

But students seeking to start socially responsible ventures face a double whammy when they emerge from college and are seeking funding, according to a recent Business Week article.

updated; from the International Herald Tribune:

The new face of private philanthropy

Charitable giving has been a challenging proposition at least since the days of Andrew Carnegie, who was once quoted as saying, “It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than it is to earn it in the first place.”

Given the unprecedented number of charitable organizations in the world today, the learning curve associated with philanthropic giving has never been steeper. In the United States alone, there were about 904,000 public charities registered with the Internal Revenue Service as of 2006. In Britain, as of this year, there were an estimated 180,000.

Small wonder, then, that potential donors may feel ill-equipped to navigate this new landscape – especially when they are approached in a high-pressure manner, like at a fund-raising auction.