Giving Philanthropy A Boost Through Policy
The new government initiative aimed at boosting philanthropy contains wide-ranging suggestions, but the draft policy is cautious about tax incentives, writes Emily Styles
Since 2019, government has been seeking to formulate an official philanthropy policy that will increase private giving to worthy causes. The process is led by the Department of Rural and Community Development, and minister Joe O’Brien recently launched a public consultation on Ireland’s first
National Philanthropy Policy.
As O’Brien sees it, the aim of this policy is to set out clear objectives, and specific actions to enable philanthropy to grow and thrive in Ireland for social good. “The philanthropy policy will also support knowledge and capacity development of the sector,” said O’Brien. “It will also identify the supports required for it to thrive and maximise its potential.”
Philanthropy stems from the Greek meaning “the love of humanity”, and is defined as private giving for public good. It takes many forms including the provision of resources to individuals and organisations by way of gifts, grants, legacies, technical support, capacity building, in-kind donations, scholarships and strategic planning. Philanthropic giving is often long-term and strategic in intent and purpose, and philanthropic giving takes many forms and can be done by families, individuals, corporations or indeed a combination of all.
The draft National Policy has the following strands: communications and awareness; data and research; stimulating philanthropy including fiscal incentives; government and sectoral partnership; and capacity building. When finalised later this year, O’Brien envisages the policy will run for a period of five years,
from 2023 to 2027, and will be overseen by an Implementation and Monitoring Group. Annual updates on the implementation of the policy are promised by the department, as was well as publication of baseline and trend data emerging from the implementation of the policy.
According to O’Brien’s department, there is no single measure that precisely captures the overall scale and scope of philanthropic giving in Ireland. Charitable giving to all non-profits in Ireland was estimated at €1.7bn in 2020. Of this, c.€80m is approximated as being from philanthropy, though this is likely an underestimation as much of individual philanthropic giving is done in private.
In relation to the number of active grant-making organisations, Ireland lags significantly by
comparison to other countries, with an estimate of 30 times lower than the European average. More recent figures point to 159 registered Irish entities dedicated to philanthropy, most of which are small in scale. By comparison, in Norway there are 7,612 philanthropic foundations.
Giving by way of legacies and bequests in Ireland, another source of philanthropic giving, is modest. A report by Campaign Solutions in 2023 identified €87m verified legacy income by not-for-profits in Ireland in 2021, though other estimates point to closer to €100m. “As a vehicle for philanthropic giving, the potential to grow bequests is compelling, particularly when considered against a backdrop of significant growth
in wealth in Ireland and future intergenerational transfer of wealth,” the draft policy document notes.
Philanthropy in Ireland is not new. The Royal Dublin Society, founded in 1731, is one of the oldest philanthropic organisations in Europe, while the Guinness family’s Iveagh Trust has been providing housing for low income family since 1903. In more recent times, The Ireland Funds was one of the pioneers in the establishment of philanthropic structures. Established in 1976, the organisation has tapped the Irish diaspora for over $600m for good causes in Ireland and beyond.
Other examples cited by government officials include the Katharine Howard Foundation, which was founded in 1979 with modest funds but has grown over time with legacy support, and the St Stephen’s Green Trust, established in 1992. Chuck Feeney’s Atlantic Philanthropies made over 1,000 Irish grants totalling c.€1bn over a 30-year period. One Foundation, run by the family of Tony Ryan, was established in 2004 and invested an estimated €85m in a range of causes over a 10-year period.
In 2000, Community Foundation Ireland was established, supported by a government investment of €1m. In the intervening 23 years, it has created an endowment fund of over €55m with the aim of delivering a consistent and sustainable amount each year for grant-making, in perpetuity, and grants of more than €110m have been made to 5,000 voluntary, community and charitable partners.
In 2002, a network of 15 grant makers formally established as Philanthropy Ireland. What started as an informal network has now grown to a membership of almost 50 grant-making organisations. An early innovator in corporate philanthropy was Vodafone Ireland Foundation, founded in 2003, though structured corporate philanthropy remains relatively underdeveloped in Ireland. More recently, 2016 saw the launch of Social Innovation Fund Ireland, now Rethink Ireland. Using a match funding model — the state matches money raised from private individuals
— Rethink has raised c.€85m to support projects across health, education, social enterprise, equality, and green transition.
However, the Department of Rural and Community Development says the number of family or corporate foundations remains small, and endowed funds are not common. “The early years of the millennium was a time of accelerated development of philanthropy in Ireland though somewhat ad-hoc in its progression,” is the department’s view. “That is not to undermine the independence of philanthropy but to acknowledge that there is capacity for further development and opportunity to inject further pace and dimensions into advancing philanthropy through policy development.”
So how to incentivise more philanthropic giving? Community Foundation Ireland has four suggestions which the organisation believes would help:
A new ‘Sustainable Futures Endowment Fund’ with government seed funding of €10m. Combined with existing grant-making, CFI says this recommendation would see climate and biodiversity grant-making for communities guaranteed in perpetuity. Cross Government Commitment to Match Funding. CFI believes an important dimension of the government policy should be to ensure that all departments and agencies are open to the prospect of match-funding (private and public money invested in joint projects), and that there is a framework to determine how and when such an approach is relevant and should be considered. Place-Based Giving. CFI’s view is that place-based giving aligns closely with Irish values and culture and could be a key way to unlock potential for increased giving and impactful grant making supporting communities. The caveat is such giving has be incentivised with fiscal incentives. Promoting and Growing Legacy Giving. Inter-generational transfer is now estimated to be running at an annual rate of around €9bn, and on the data very few wealthy individuals are philanthropic when settling their estate. CFI has suggested Capital Acquisitions Tax reform could make them think again.
The draft Philanthropy Policy is cautious on the issue of fiscal incentives to stimulate philanthropy. It references the 2020 OECD study on Taxation and Philanthropy, which highlighted that countries need to ensure that the design of their tax incentives for philanthropic giving is consistent with their underlying policy goals.
Nonetheless, O’Brien’s officials acknowledge that tax policy can play a role in removing blockages to philanthropic giving. “Thoughtful fiscal changes could lead to increased support of charities that have more strategic projects and a major-gifts approach,” says the policy document. “Tax incentives can further inspire the philanthropic journey of individuals and others to increase their scale of giving and to become more strategic generally in their giving approach.”
AbbVie is a global biopharmaceutical company that employs more than 2,600 people across six locations in Ireland. Alongside five manufacturing facilities in Cork, Dublin, Sligo, and Mayo, two offices in Dublin serve the needs of the company’s Commercial, Supply Chain and Operations activities. The company, which was established in 2013, now employs more than 50,000 people in 70 countries worldwide. During that time, AbbVie has donated close to $650m to nonprofits around the world.
In Ireland, and around the world, AbbVie is committed to making a remarkable impact on people’s lives. The company does this by listening to changing patient needs, looking and thinking ahead, and constantly innovating. AbbVie understands that addressing the world’s health challenges requires a comprehensive and responsible approach. That’s why AbbVie is committed to going beyond medicine, not just developing innovative therapies but also playing a wider role in improving healthcare outcomes and enhancing local communities and the environment.
SUPPORTING SCIENCE EDUCATION
Over the past number of decades Ireland has become a leading global pharmaceutical and digital information technology hub. If the country is to maintain this important position on the worldwide stage, it needs to continue to focus on educating our student population about the advantages of a career in STEM-related employment. For AbbVie, helping to transform science education in Ireland is a key corporate responsibility priority.
In 2017, in partnership with other interested groups, AbbVie published the STEM Paths report exploring barriers to engagement in science-related subjects and careers in Ireland. The document highlighted the negative impact that low levels of STEM student interest might have on Ireland’s high-value pharma, biopharma and medical technology sectors. To help address this issue, AbbVie has developed a number of initiatives that encourage greater student awareness of the rewarding career opportunities that can be unlocked by studying STEM subjects.
Back to School for STEM is a schools’ outreach focused on promoting science role models from the Irish
workplace. The initiative sees employees from AbbVie’s six Irish locations visit schools, including those they themselves studied at, to talk about their jobs and the difference their work makes to wider society. AbbVie’s commitment to promoting science within our communities is further demonstrated by its sponsorship of the annual Sligo Science Festival. AbbVie’s support has helped the festival undertake exciting initiatives, live events and STEM-focused promotional engagements at several local schools. In 2023, AbbVie will extend this support to include similar activities in Cork, Dublin and Mayo.
Most recently, AbbVie has launched the AbbVie STEM Prize with the help of former engineer and STEM advocate, Deirdre Clune MEP. The project will roll out to national schools in Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Mayo in September, to coincide with the start of the new school year. Participating schools will have an opportunity to win STEM-related materials to the value of €30,000. Schools that enter will be asked to demonstrate how they might use STEM to solve challenges in their communities.
GIVING BACK THROUGH VOLUNTEERING
Community engagement is also an integral part of AbbVie’s culture, with employees continually looking for ways to engage and give back through volunteering. All employees are given the option to spend two fully paid work days volunteering in the community. About one-quarter of all employees volunteer through programmes sponsored by the company or the AbbVie Foundation, ranging from activities to advance philanthropic outreach to several probono programmes that allow employees to donate their specialised skills in the most useful ways.
Week of Possibilities, which celebrated its eighth year in
2023, is AbbVie’s landmark volunteering programme. It is a unique initiative that seeks to empower employees to personally improve the communities in which AbbVie people work and live. In June 2023, more than 1,100 employees from six AbbVie locations in Cork, Dublin, Sligo and Mayo contributed 3,635 volunteer hours to the initiative. AbbVie volunteers came together to refurbish facilities at five national and secondary schools, a local community centre, as well as assembling more than 2,000 activity packs which were distributed directly to 18 schools in Mayo, and to children accessing services supported by the charity Barnardos.
AbbVie was recently awarded the ‘Best Use of CSR’ title at the Life Science Industry Awards in recognition of the Week of Possibilities volunteering initiative. The project also won the ‘CSR Programme of the Year’ at the 2022 Irish Pharma Industry Awards.
ABBVIE’S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
AbbVie is focusing on the long-term sustainability of its operations, including its commercial and manufacturing facilities in Ireland, by reducing the energy it consumes, reducing the water it uses and reducing the energy it generates. AbbVie aims to reduce its carbon footprint as part of its overall commitment to operating responsibly. It has established absolute reduction goals, and it invests in technology and infrastructure to reduce its carbon footprint.
In 2021, AbbVie demonstrated this commitment when it joined more than 60 of the largest companies in Ireland in signing up to Business in the Community Ireland’s Low Carbon Pledge. The pledge, which was officially launched by Minister for Communications, Climate Action &
Environment, Eamon Ryan, involves companies committing to science-based carbon emissions reductions by 2024.
The company has set ambitious, long-term environmental sustainability targets for absolute reductions to carbon emissions, water and waste while driving increases in renewable electricity. In 2021, AbbVie made the commitment to set near-term Science Based Targets. Working with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) enables access to expert resources that support the meaningful reduction of the company’s climate impact and that provide an external assessment. In August 2022, AbbVie submitted its targets to SBTi. AbbVie’s new targets, which were validated by SBTi in March 2023, include: GHG Emission Reduction: AbbVie commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 42% by 2030 from a 2021 base year.
Renewable Electricity: AbbVie commits to increase active sourcing of renewable electricity from 29.5% in 2021 to 100% by 2030.
Supplier Engagement: AbbVie commits that at least 79.1% of its suppliers by emissions covering purchased goods and services, capital goods, and upstream transportation and distribution, will have science-based targets by 2027.
DRIVING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN SUSTAINABILITY
To help steward the commitment to a healthier environment, teams across AbbVie’s sites in Ireland have come together to form Team Evergreen. They are dedicated to delivering an innovative energy management and sustainability programmes with a focus replicability across the company’s sites in Ireland.
One of the initiatives that the team has championed over the past number of years is the AbbVie EcoChallenge.
In 2022, 315 Ireland employees participated in the month-long virtual project, which commenced on Earth Day. EcoChallenge encourages AbbVie employees, both as individuals and teams, to engage in environmental sustainability and social-focused activities. Employees and teams also have an opportunity to win prizes, challenge other teams and receive regular hints and tips to help them make the most impact in their local communities and for the environment.
AbbVie’s commitment to environmental stewardship was recognised at the 2023 Green Awards, where the company was presented with the ‘Green Pharmaceutical Award’. The company was also named best ‘Sustainable Business Team’ at the recent 2023 Sustainable Business Awards.