Wall Street exports the art of giving
The American Ireland Fund is changing the way the wealthy choose to donate their fortunes, says David Wighton of the Financial Times.

Some of Wall Street’s top executives will meet tomorrow night in New York’s Waldorf Astoria to discuss matters of mutual interest. Philip Purcell, chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley, will be there, as will Bob McCann, vice-chairman of Merrill Lynch’s wealth management business, and Christopher “Kip” Condron, head of Axa Financial, the US arm of the French insurer. But they will not be
debating the future of the New York Stock Exchange or the management turmoil at Morgan Stanley.

They and other senior executives will be dis cussing homelessness in Gal way, integrated schooling in Belfast and cultural develop ment in Tipperary. The occasion is the annual New York Dinner Gala of The Ireland Funds, a philanthropic organisation that has raised more than $100m from wealthy Americans to support social, educational and cultural projects in Ireland.

Formed in 1976 by Sir Anthony O’Reilly, an Irish businessman, and Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburg Steelers football team, the Fund has been so successful that other countries are seeking to emulate it. A group of Scottish business men and politicians is trying to set up a body, modelled on the Ireland Funds, to tap the generosity of Americans with Scottish ancestry.

Yet, while the mood of the dinner will be celebratory, the Fund has real challenges. In particular, it faces the task of persuading Americans to send money to a country with a booming economy where huge private wealth has been generated over the past few years. So its new strategy includes taking a lead in the broader efforts to export the American model of philanthropy to Europe and Asia.

The importance of philanthropy is one of the striking features of business life in the US. It is almost expected for wealthy business people to devote large amounts of time and money to good causes. “For me, it is a very important part of who I am,” says Mr McCann. It is not just, or even mainly, altruism that leads some people to get involved. Mr McCann signed up for the Fund because Mr Condron, who was an important client, asked him to do so. “I did it for the most commercial - and most New York - of all reasons. Then the oddest thing happened. I started to care.” It was odd because, although Irish by descent, Mr McCann did not feel Irish. “When I was growing up, we never talked about being Irish - never.”

One of the most generous supporters of the Fund is not Irish at all. Lew Glucksman, a Hungarian Jew who became co-chief executive of Lehman Brothers, fell in love with Ireland through its literature. He founded, with his wife, an Irish studies cen tre at New York University. Loretta Brennan Glucksman , who has been chairman of the American Fund for almost 15 years, says: “ People can love Ireland without being Irish.” The Fund got off to a slow start. Like many Irish charities, the Fund had to work hard to reassure donors that the money would not find its way into the hands of paramilitaries.

Mrs Glucksman says that thanks to the efforts of the team in Ireland “ we can prove we have never supported anything but peace, culture, charity and education”. The annual dinners in cities around the US, which are the core of the Fundraising effort, soon became important fixtures on the social calendar. “Our dinner is the most important night of the year in Boston, regardless of your ethnic heritage,” says Mr Condron. “ If you want to see anyone who is anyone in Boston, you go to The Ireland Funds event.” Although the Irish Americans have been successful, Mr Condron says that the real leaders in philanthropy are Jewish Americans - not least because giving has such an important place in Jewish culture. “Its not indigenous among the Irish Americans to be philanthropic,” he explains. “It’s a learned behaviour.” He recalls watching his mother put a $5 bill in the church collection basket with one hand while carefully picking out four ones with the other. When it comes to learning the behaviour, the social side is undeniably important and the Fund shamelessly exploits the celebrity of its supporters.

Mr McCann, who is a fervent Pittsburg Steelers fan, recalls being
persuaded, rather against his will, to become chairman of the New York dinner com mittee by Mr Rooney, the team’s owner. “Little boys from Pittsburg don’t say no to Dan Rooney when he asks you a favour. It would have been easier to say no to the Pope.” In terms of new recruits, the strategy is to get people to come to the party and then convert them to the mission. According to Mrs Glucksman, the Fund’s best sales tool is to get people to see projects it supports on the ground in Ireland. “If we can show them what has been done with the money, they sign up.”

In the past few years, the Fund has tended to focus more on getting supporters involved in individual pro jects rather than asking them to give generically to Ireland. Mrs Glucksman says that this has helped main tain the flow of Funds in spite of the recent economic success of Ireland. Increasing affluence does not eliminate need, says Mr Condron. “I can go 40 blocks from here and find incredi ble poverty,” he says, speak ing in his mid-town Manhat tan office. The same is true in Ireland, where there is an increasing gulf between the poor and the new rich, and growing social problems such as the sharp rise in the suicide rate among young men.

But Mr McCann admits that the new affluence of Ireland is a “significant challenge” for the Funds. He is also concerned about the business model of the Funds, which spends what it raises every year. “Any business that has you starting at zero each year is a tough business.” He argues that the Funds need to establish an
endow ment that will provide some financial permanence, particularly when the time comes to hand over the running of the Funds to a new generation. The Fund’s response is, among other things, to export its model of philan thropy back to Ireland. According to Kingsley Aik ins, chief executive of The American Ireland Fund: “There are now 500 people in Ireland with a net worth of more than S100m ($128m at time of press) and a lot of them are saying they don’t want to leave it all to their children.“

We believe that Ireland can be a world class philanthropy centre. The ingredients are there, the resources are there. We just need to apply the American process.” If Ireland, for so long a recipient of charity, were to become a donor nation, it could be seen as the ultimate achievement for The Ireland Funds. And certainly the cause for another celebration.

HOW TO COAX OUT THE CHEQUE BOOKS

Find the right cause “There is a mystique about Ireland, a pride about Ireland. People who are successful in America want to make a difference in Ireland,” says Kip Condron, head of Axa Financial.

Keep it focused. Donors are increasingly giving to issues not organisations. Get them out to meet the people on the ground and let them identify with a particular project Engage and involve donors “

Strangers don’t give,” says Kingsley Aikins, chief executive of The American Ireland Fund. “ You can’t milk a cow by sending it a letter”

Don’t forget the fun. People come for the party and the opportunity to network. Once they have their glasses full, you can convert them to the mission.“ The social side is so important,” says Loretta Brennan Glucksman. “ People like to have fun and want to meet other interesting people that want to have fun.”

Be professional. Doing good is good for business. “The events we’ve done have become events that important people want to be at,” says Mr Condron.