Key role to play

Philanthropists can fill the gaps in the global SDGs movement

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest crises of modern times causing untold and unforeseeable suffering, oftentimes beyond a single government's capacity to cope. It is also a wake-up call for the world to focus on a collaborative approach to problem-solving, particularly in dealing with issues that are not constrained by borders.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 Global Goals with a mission "to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity". In view of the global challenges from climate change to food security and others, what are the chances of seeing these goals realized by 2030?

A recent study published by Oxfam, a United Kingdom-based charity, revealed that many billionaires have substantially increased their net worth during the pandemic and a new billionaire has been created every 26 hours when most people were struggling just to keep their heads above water. Asia, a fast-growing region projected to host more than one-third of the world's billionaire population, according to The Wealth Report published by Knight Frank, ironically is also home to the most vulnerable groups in society. With the rise of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) and their ever-bulging fortune, there is a growing call for them to do more for the greater good through philanthropy.

Philanthropy has been taking off globally in the past two decades with the estimated total annual donations in time and money valued at approximately $2.3 trillion, just below 3 percent of global GDP.However, philanthropists can do more－not only by giving more but also by being more strategic, coordinated and collaborative in their approach to philanthropy. There is also a need to have more UHNWIs in the philanthropy club, though some of them prefer to maintain a low profile.

One obvious challenge the philanthropic world faces is the imbalance in resource allocation. Philanthropists tend to support causes based on their passion and personal interest. That leads to some causes receiving more resources than others. In China, for example, research shows education is consistently the favorite charitable cause, attracting nearly half of the donations made in 2015. Of 17 sustainable development goals, philanthropists should be encouraged to support areas with fewer resources such as Gender Equality (Goal 5) and Life Below Water (Goal 14).

Other heretofore overlooked serious needs awaiting philanthropic support are initiatives that are not commercially viable. Climate Action (Goal 13) is a prime example. It is common knowledge that renewable energy is the key to achieving net-zero but the energy transition requires a sophisticated technology infrastructure that makes clean energy affordable. Given the profit-making nature of its value proposition, the private sector might be reluctant to invest in such infrastructure for social good, or it will transfer the costs, also known as green premium, to end consumers in order to maintain a profit margin. Otherwise, it won't have the business incentives to invest in green R&D. Philanthropists are in a good position to fill the niche to balance financial sustainability and social good to ensure affordable clean energy for all.

Last but not least, philanthropy is more than just making donations. To be effective, philanthropists should identify the social gap in public policy and engage in advocacy for policy change. Take Gender Equality (Goal 5) as an example: in Laos, before the pandemic, 9 percent of females were married by the age of 15, while 35.4 percent were married by 18, according to global partnership Girls Not Brides. This is significantly higher than the global average of 20 percent. These gender dynamics are reflected in the education system where females are more than twice as likely to be unschooled than males, with 21 percent of adult females reported in the government's census to have no educational attainment compared with 10 percent of adult males. When the social issue is reflected in the system, philanthropy on its own cannot tackle the issue without working with the government.

In view of the massive accumulation of wealth which is on tap for worthy causes, some scholars foresee a new "golden age of philanthropy". While global philanthropy is gaining momentum, the deadline to achieve the Global Goals by 2030 is fast approaching. The pandemic has exposed some serious challenges to realizing Health and Well-being (Goal 3) and Inequality (Goal 10), but there are many other dire needs that must be met and challenges that must be overcome.

Philanthropists, with the vast resources at their disposal, should use their proven skills that brought them success in support of the global SDGs movement. To get their money's worth, philanthropists should not just throw their money at the problem, but make the effort to really understand a problem and to seek a holistic approach in collaboration with other stakeholders toward solving it.

The author is co-founder of Brianstorm Content& Brandstorm Communications and former associate director of communications of the Yidan Prize Foundation.

The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn