Three philanthropy bodies have combined to form a single new membership organisation that will provide information about philanthropy to donors, philanthropy advisers, and charities.

Philanthropy Impact will be the new organisation that brings together the European Association for Philanthropy and Giving (EAPG), the Philanthropy Advisers Forum and Philanthropy UK.

EAPG was used as the legal vehicle to create Philanthropy Impact – the name has changed but it retains the same charity number and company limited by guarantee number. EAPG has been a registered charity since 1998, delivering online and offline educational events in the UK and Europe.

Philanthropy UK was created as an offshoot of the Association of Charitable Foundations in 2001 and has been funded entirely by government grants.  Its aim was to create a website full of content for anybody interested in philanthropy and philanthropists.

When the Office for Civil Society cut the number of its strategic partners from 42 to 15 in April 2011, the ACF and Community Foundation Network learned they would share £742,500 over the next three years, and Philanthropy UK would have to be paid for out of that.  This funding will expire at the end of March 2014.

So for the past year they have been exploring the possibility of creating a successor body that could be self-sustaining.  Early on it seemed sensible to unite with the Philanthropy Advisers’ Forum, an informal network of mainly London-based philanthropy advisers, and during discussions they decided to go further and join forces with the EAPG, the only legal entity among the three.

According to Sue Daniels, formerly EAPG director and now director of the new Philanthropy Impact, the new body will provide online and offline resources, including events, for three audiences across the UK and Europe:  philanthropists themselves, wealth and philanthropy advisers, and charities. It will have a staff of two.

“Our aim is to help people make sense of and inspire philanthropy,” she said.  As well as a new interactive website, the organisation will deliver regular e-digests and a quarterly digital magazine.

Daniels is now exploring options for membership models to ensure the financial sustainability of the new body.

 

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