Beacon Briefing: "Charitable Giving Post Tsunami"
10th March, 2005

The Beacon Fellowship hosted a special evening event at the Royal Society of Arts: Charitable Giving Post Tsunami, a discussion on a topic vital to everyone involved in philanthropy, and voluntary organisations.

The Tsunami disaster showed once again how warm hearted and generous the British people are in a crisis. But in the absence of such a big news-making crisis why are we not so good? Why is that, when so many of the personal tragedies caused by the Tsunami happen every day to other people, albeit in not such dramatic circumstances?

Put more positively can strategies for giving be devised that will improve the level of donations pre tsunami levels? A formidable challenge, but one we have to try at least in part to meet, bearing in mind the fear of some charitable and voluntary bodies that they will suffer a fall in income as a result of donations being switched to the many Tsunami appeals; or if we are to have the ability to meet the needs of another major tragedy. This was the challenge of the evening.

Broadcaster and journalist, Martyn Lewis, chaired the event and expert speakers included:

Over 100 individuals attended the event from the charity, media, financial and professional sectors.