• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / In the Media / Philanthropic Freedom: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It

Philanthropic Freedom: If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It

May 19, 2013 By eJP

cgpHudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) has released Philanthropic Freedom: A Pilot Study, the first time ease of giving has been fully measured and compared across countries.

The 13-country study fills a major gap in development policy and philanthropic research by surveying barriers and incentives to philanthropy in three main areas: the ease of registering and operating civil society organizations (CSOs); domestic tax policies for individual and corporate deductions, credits, and exemptions; and the ease of sending and receiving cash and in-kind goods across borders.

India, South Africa, and Mexico have regulations and tax incentives conducive to philanthropy, yet the laws on the books are met with bureaucratic obstacles. While Brazil and Egypt have similar domestic tax incentives, barriers to CSO operations and cross-border flows are significantly greater in Egypt. Egypt is joined by Russia and China with the most restrictions on philanthropic activity due to each government’s interference in civil society activities, cross-border flows, and few tax incentives.

Of particular interest to some eJP readers is the Russia Country Report. An excerpt:

“Since the early 20th century, Russian philanthropy has been mainly an act of the Russian aristocracy whose main support was for the arts and the poor. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russian oligarchs grew in wealth and philanthropy reappeared when foundations started to form in the late 1990s. Most of the foundations were formed by high net worth individuals that ran successful corporations. Due to a few corruptions cases in the early 90’s, trust in philanthropy in Russia was low.

However, a few key leaders surfaced, including Vladimir Potanin, who founded the Potanin Foundation. While the philanthropic sector grew significantly since the 1990s, comparatively speaking, the Russian philanthropy is a relatively new phenomenon. Today, there are approximately 220,000 non-commercial organizations (NCOs) in Russia, about half of which
are public associations.

Currently, regulations regarding Russian civil society are changing. On July 20, 2012, the Russian President signed the Federal Law on Introducing Amendments to Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation Regarding the Regulation of Activities of Non-commercial Organizations Performing the Functions of Foreign Agents (hereinafter referred to as “the Law”). This new law came into effect on November 21, 2012. The law’s provisions have the potential to significantly affect both Russian and foreign organizations carrying out activities in Russia. Many organizations are concerned that the ramifications of the law will be most damaging for Russian NCOs actively working in the areas of advocacy and human rights. The law includes a number of ambiguous provisions that may require elaboration in regulations yet to be promulgated. It is difficult to forecast at this time all of the possible ramifications of the Law, as much will depend on how its provisions are implemented.”

The pilot study and all of the detailed country reports can be downloaded from Hudson.org/PhilanthropicFreedom.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: In the Media, Life in the FSU Countries, Research

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • What Title for Henrietta Szold?
  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • Breaking: Birthright Israel & Onward Israel Seek to Join Forces to Strengthen Jewish Diaspora Ties with Israel

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved