$1m donation for Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy
Howard Lake | 25 April 2016 | News
The Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy (CSP) at Plymouth University has received a $1 million donation to expand its work in the new field of philanthropic psychology.
The Centre, which focuses on growing philanthropy, was established in 2014, and has already developed an international reputation for its research in this area. It conducts research and teaching in the United Kingdom, United States, Norway, Ireland and Australia. The emphasis of the Centre is on research that has practical applications: it aims to grow philanthropy, not just to measure it.
Matt Beem of Hartsook Companies (right) & Nikolaos Tzokas (dean of Plym U business school) sign $1m gift to CSP. pic.twitter.com/zRKgp8qEhu
— Rogare (@RogareFTT) April 25, 2016
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The gift was made by Hartsook, the US-based global fundraising consulting organisation.
It will enable the Centre to pursue six core themes of research:
- fundraising leadership
- the role of boards in fundraising
- transformational philanthropy
- philanthropic innovation
- donor relationships
- innovative work in the domain of philanthropic advising.
It will also help establish more PhD studentships, and explore ways to create the centre’s first undergraduate programme, with a view to it becoming “the world’s first School of Sustainable Philanthropy” by 2020.
Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy
Following the agreement of the gift in London last Friday, the centre will now be known as the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy. it will continue to be led by its Director, Professor Adrian Sargeant, and Director of Research, Professor Jen Shang.
Professor Adrian Sargeant, Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy, Plymouth University
Matt Beem, President and CEO of Hartsook, said:
“Adrian, Jen and their team bring unparalleled academic experience and insight to their work. Their commitment to enhancing the quality of the donor experience by equipping fundraisers around the world with research-based tools is consistent with Hartsook’s goal to grow philanthropy by improving educational opportunities available to fundraisers”.
He added:
“This gift formalises our global commitment and affirms our belief that those who ask for charitable support must have first given themselves.”
Professor Jen Shang
Hartsook and philanthropy
Hartsook, based in Kansas City, Missouri, was founded in 1987. It is the largest employee-owned fundraising consulting organisation in the world.
It has 100 team members around the world, and has served charitable organisations in the UK, every US state, 29 European countries, India, Australia, Canada, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Chile.
As well as charitable donations totaling more than $20m, its founder and chairman Bob Hartsook has funded the creation of the Hartsook Chair of Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Hartsook Institute for Fundraising at Avila University in Kansas City, Mo., which now offers the only online masters course in fundraising in the world.
Professor Sargeant, who previously held the Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, said:
“This donation is a major endorsement of our work, and recognition it is having a genuine global impact on both philanthropists and fundraising professionals. It gives us the chance to explore avenues for future growth, including new research and teaching programmes at both the undergraduate and Masters level. It also gives us our first physical presence in the United States, allowing us to respond to donor needs globally and to address our core mission of enhancing the quality of their philanthropic experience.”
In addition to its research over the past two years, the Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy has also created the Plymouth Charity Lab, an experimental facility conducting research into fundraising and philanthropy, and the Rogare think tank, drawing together 60 senior figures from around the world to identify areas of fundraising which would benefit from further research.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.