The new philanthropists

There’s a new breed of wealthy Kiwi philanthropists coming to a charity near you – and they are talking “due diligence”, “ROI”, “scalability” and “management excellence”.

WHEN THEN SOUTH Auckland mayor Sir Barry Curtis talked to industrialist Sir Noel Robinson about building an events centre for South Auckland, Robinson wasn’t interested in writing a big cheque. Instead the first step was to gather a group of seriously grunty sports and business people for the board – people like former All Black and sports manager Andy Dalton, construction boss David McConnell, and professional director Joan Withers.

“I worked out a matrix of what were the skills we needed and I set out to find the best people.”

The team met for monthly board meetings, run like a business – complete with minutes.

“Then we needed a CEO – an operator who would be in there from day one. But then you have a contingent liability – three years salary at $150,000 a year. So I said I’ll underwrite the salary for three years and we’ll make sure we raise the money in the meantime.”

Robinson also underwrote the $7-8m construction costs, commissioned a $1m business plan, and spearheaded a drive to find funders. The final product – now called the Vodafone Events Centre – cost an estimated $48.7m, and opened in 2005.

If Robinson's modus operandi sounds more like capitalism than charity, that’s because Robinson is one of a new breed of philanthropists, who treat their giving pretty much the same way they treat their businesses and investments. They are strategic, often hands- on, taking an informed, planned, and targeted approach.

“I’ve come to the conclusion with philanthropy, it’s about finding a good project that is going to make a significant difference. Then it’s getting the best management on board, not enthusiastic amateurs. Then it’s about a good business plan, Robinson says.”

And while similar models operated in the past – the Tindall and Todd foundations are good examples of charities with a strategic outlook – it’s happening more now, he says.

Nigel Scott, general manager of private banking at ANZ says his bank is seeing increasing interest from the bank’s top clients in a more structured approach to charitable giving.