Cecil Jackson-Cole’s legacy in shaping post-war philanthropy remains largely unrecognized. He was a restless social entrepreneur who thrust new thinking into the sleepy, post war charity sector and whose legacies include Oxfam, ActionAid and venture philanthropy.
For many years, David was managing director of the family business, before becoming chairman and passing the baton of day-to-day leadership to his son, Ben. Their family business, Coventry-based Burbidge & Son, is a manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom furniture. The business pioneered the introduction of world-class manufacturing techniques in the sector.
An ordinary girl with an extraordinary life. Dame Vera Lynn was recognised at age 99 in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours as a Member of the Order of Companions of Honour for her services to entertainment and charity.
Chairman of the Fredericks Foundation, Paul Barry-Walsh believes that once one recognises their good fortune, they must also recognise the inherent responsibility that goes with it.
Philanthropist, publisher and anthropologist Sigrid Rausing possesses that rare quality of someone who truly puts her ideals into action.
In January 2001, Serge Raicher and some of his private equity colleagues participated in a charity bike ride in Vietnam. Over the 10-day trek, they raised over 350,000 euros for Mines Advisory Group and several other charities.
Caroline Pfohl-Ho is chairman of a unique family foundation that draws upon the philanthropic dreams of each member to promote Chinese arts and culture, and to foster a deeper understanding of Buddhist philosophy and apply its insights to creative expression.
Born in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, Michael Oglesby spent his early working years in the construction industry before moving to Manchester.
Nigel Morris returned to London in 2004 after 20 years in the US, where he created and ran one of the greatest success stories in the financial services industry, Capital One.
For Mia Morris giving is all about CSR and community social responsibility. A well known community activist, she defines her philanthropic activities as being deeply rooted in belonging to a community of people.
For Doug Miller, philanthropy has been a "progression of learning". His influences started early in life: as a child, his mother, a school teacher, had little money but was always involved in charitable activity.
What Inspires Givers? What an important question with a very simple answer: driving their own agenda.
Founder of Fortune Forum, a charity which aims to tackle the interdependent global issues of poverty, climate change and diseases, Renu Mehta used her extensive contacts to convene philanthropists, global leaders and celebrities to collectively make a difference.
Born in South Africa to a wealthy businessman and an activist working for nuclear disarmament, Polly spent her formative years alternating between two very different lifestyles.
After attending a Surrey grammar school and graduating from Oxford University and London Business School, followed by a stint in management consulting and general management, Sir Peter Lampl built up a successful business in private equity in the 1980s and 1990s.
If you want the world to be a better place, then do something about it. No government in the world has the resources to do all that is needed.
Sir Vernon Ellis was the chair of the British Coucil from 2010 to 2016. Until 2008 he worked for Accenture as International Chairman.
Dame Vivien Louise Duffield, DBE is an English philanthropist. After her father's death in 1979, Duffield assumed the Chairmanship of the Clore Foundations in the UK and in Israel. In the UK she also established her own Vivien Duffield Foundation in 1987, and the two foundations merged in 2000 to become the Clore Duffield Foundation. A 2005 London Evening Standard article estimated that she and the Foundations she controls had donated in excess of £176 million. In March 2011, amid heavy Government cuts on the arts, she donated £8.2 million for educational purposes to 11 arts institutions. Following her departure from the board of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Duffield subsequently donated £1M to the re-development of the London Coliseum.
Mike Dickson is a founder of Whizz-Kidz (which has since raised over £100 million to help more than 20,000 young people with mobility problems whizz about) and the Rainmaker Foundation. He is the author of Our Generous Gene and The More You Give, The More You Get. Mike advises companies and individuals on charitable giving.
Sir Ronald Cohen wants to achieve a "radical improvement in the UK's capacity to create wealth, economic growth and employment".
Formerly the principal dancer at the Royal Ballet Darcey Bussell now focuses her energies on giving back and supports Rainforest Concern
I firmly believe that few things are more important to a just society, and the flourishing of its members, than a strong and feisty charitable sector.
Roshni Nadar Malhotra is an Indian billionaire businesswoman, the chairperson of HCL Technologies and the first woman to lead a listed IT company in India.
"I helped set up The Converging World. The whole idea inspired me to invest in our first wind farm in India. My background is in business, and like increasing numbers of business people, I want my money to do more than just sit in a bank account. I want it to do some good"
Tarek Ben Halim was a Libyan investment banker. In 2000 he left banking to pursue charitable work and promote justice and democracy in the Arab World. In 2004, he founded Alfanar, the first Arab venture philanthropy organisation.
Rev John Wates OBE comes from a family of philanthropists. In 1966, his father and two uncles amalgamated their personal charitable trusts to set up the Wates Foundation. He says: “As a family, we were brought up in the tradition of the Christian imperative of philanthropy.”
Crucial to my giving is ensuring that the money is well spent and that it will have a positive, measurable impact.
Alan decided against setting up his own charity, believing “there are already enough charities doing good work”. Instead, he supports existing “first class” organisations, often helping them to fundraise.
Kenneth Olisa OBE, FRSA, FBCS is a British businessman and philanthropist. He was appointed HM Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London in 2015. He is Deputy-Chair of the Institute of Directors, was the 1st British-born black man to serve as a Director of a FTSE-100 company (Reuters) and the founder of two technology merchant banks.
The Shears Foundation is very much a family affair with family members as trustees.
Giving to charity is deeply embedded in Jewish life and teaching. The Hebrew word for charity, Tzedakah, means righteousness, for charity is a duty.
Steve lives in New York and has four grandchildren - Will and Hannah in Amherst, Massachusetts, and Romy and Charlie in London, UK. He now realises that he has been a Grandparent his whole career.
Global poverty. Climate change. Child mortality. Malaria. The United Nations Foundation is tackling some of the world's greatest challenges. Its founder, the media mogul Ted Turner, compares the work of the Foundation to the noble knight in Lord Alfred Tennyson's Idylls of the King.
Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley is an information technology pioneer, businesswoman and philanthropist. She started an early business technology group on her dining room table with £6 in 1962.
Born in Scotland in 1942, Gordon trained at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, England. Tin mining, sheep farming in Australia and canoeing down the Amazon all featured in his life before the age of 26, when he met and married Anita Perella.
Anita’s grandfather was a doctor in India, and it was he who first inspired her interest in philanthropy. That philanthropic passion blossomed while she was a student at Delhi University, where she worked in a crèche with young children from challenged backgrounds.
Iraj Ispahani is the CEO of Ispahani Advisory Ltd. and is based in London. Iraj serves as a Group Director and Board Member of M.M. Ispahani Ltd, a family business headquartered in Bangladesh which will celebrate 200 years in 2020.
David Gold does not like labels. For instance, he resists being called a venture philanthropist, explaining: "We are a risk-taking funder, but what we do is applied common sense. It is important to try to balance the many social outcomes against a financial commitment." He worries that venture philanthropy may be creating a new language and new hurdles.
Charitable giving has always been a part of Ram Gidoomal's life, which he credits to strong religious influences.
Philanthropist and lawyer Pernille Kruse Madsen founded Danish charity Human Practice Foundation in 2014.
A Man in a Woman’s World
Founder of LiveTwice and ambassador for The Prince's Trust
Sir Ian Wood is a philanthropist who thinks, and acts, both locally and globally.
Nat Sloane is arguably one of the most influential individuals in philanthropy in this country. He is involved in the disbursement of roughly half a billion pounds annually and a major a disrupter and champion for the UK charity sector. Now with dual UK-US nationality, the entrepreneur and former venture capitalist is Chair of the England Committee for the National Lottery Community Fund, a founder of the award winning Impetus-Pef, founding chair of Social and Sustainable Capital, one of the largest social investment fund managers in the UK, a funding trustee of the Education Endowment Fund and now Chairs Pause, a rapidly scaling charity preventing children from being taken into care by helping vulnerable women stop a negative cycle of repeated pregnancies.
Fred has used much of his income as an art dealer for the good of others, giving to charity in a range of unusual ways and persuading other rich individuals to give their money to charity and to enjoy it.
J.K. Rowling is the author of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter book series and founder of the Volant Charitable Trust, which aids women and children and to combat poverty and social inequality.
Dame Janet is a collector of contemporary art and was a Director of Christie’s International between 1994 and 1998, Trustee of Tate 1992-2002 and the Chairman of Council for Tate Modern 1999 -2002.
Tom Hughes-Hallett, who stepped down after 12 years as chief executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care to devote more time to encouraging philanthropy, previously enjoyed a 25-year career in the City, latterly running Fleming's global securities business. Since he first had contact with the charity world, Tom's passion and level of involvement has grown ever greater.
Lara Rufus is afounding member and Chair of the Black Fundraisers’ Network (BfN), established in 2006 to ensure that every black fundraiser has the skills, expertise and support to become a leader within the fundraising sector.
Turning profits from green technologies into grants for social care and medical research
Successful entrepreneur Marcelle Speller used her winning business skills to connect under-the-radar local charities with philanthropists. Here she shares her enriching journey.
“Culturally the South Asian community places great importance on charity,” says Manoj Badale, Chairman of The British Asian Trust (BAT), which was founded in 2007 by a group of British Asian business leaders at the suggestion of HRH The Prince of Wales, following a visit to India and consultation with South Asian community leaders.
Kavita Oberoi’s first experience of philanthropy was aged 15, giving £100 a month to charities from the salary of her first after-school job.
Entrepreneur, business angel and philanthropist Peter Saunders OBE shares his story of philanthropy in the Welsh community he knows intimately.
Sir Tom Hunter was knighted in 2005 for services to entrepreneurship and philanthropy. A long-term advocate of ‘giving back’ Tom has championed the cause of philanthropy in Europe.
