Dame Stephanie Shirley, appointed as the government's ambassador for philanthropy in April this year, has launched a website that aims to ‘give philanthropists a voice’.
 
The site, called 'Ambassador(s) for Philanthropy', featuring videos of philanthropists talking about their giving, is seed-funded by Dame Stephanie and is independent of her role as government philanthropy ambassador. She plans to continue the site beyond her proposed year in office.

The website currently features videos from James Caan, star of BBC’s Dragons Den, Matthew Bowcock, chair of the Community Foundation Network, and his wife Helen, and Frederick Mulder, chair of The Funding Network (TFN).

Roberta d’Eustachio, chief of staff to the ambassador for philanthropy, Dame Stephanie Shirley and founding executive producer of the 'Ambassador(s) for Philanthropy' website, said, “When we met individual philanthropists, it became clear that many were saying similar things, but saying them on their own. The site is about getting their stories out, helping philanthropists talk about how and why they give. It’s not about the money. It is about vision and strategic giving.”

“The short term goal is to get thousands of philanthropists’ stories on video on the site, starting from those in Britain,” d’Eustachio told Philanthropy UK. “The larger picture is about getting it beyond the UK and we have had conversations with philanthropists in India, China, Spain, as well as the U.S. and others. Can it be a global site? Yes. Can Britain lead the world? Yes!” she adds.

Dame Stephanie is currently providing seed funding for the website. In future she aims to make the website self-sustaining through partnerships such as the current one with Coutts and by establishing a ‘fellowship’ of philanthropists.

The Philanthropist Fellowship will be an invite-only, paid-for membership-based body that brings philanthropists throughout the UK together on a regular basis to develop their skills so that ‘they can give with greater impact.’

It will offer opportunities to learn and share knowledge through seminars and private meetings and briefings, in a ‘media free’ zone. The Fellowship will also allow members to put forward their views on philanthropy to decision-makers within government and without, the site says.

Dame Stephanie turned IT company Xansa, that she founded in 1962, into a FTSE 250 leading technology group. Since retiring as honorary Life President in 1993, she has increasingly devoted her time to philanthropy, founding the Shirley Foundation, and providing £10m in funding for the Oxford Internet Institute at Balliol College, Oxford University.

For more information, visit the Ambassador(s) for Philanthropy website.