Giving Compass' Take:

· MarketWatch takes a look at the top causes the 1% likes to give towards, including arts, culture, and sports, but not climate change.

· What are the top causes supported by the 1%? What does this tell us about philanthropy trends? How can this information be used for good?

· Check out these philanthropic trends to come in 2020.


Climate change has captured the attention of scientists, the media and global economic leaders at Davos, but it doesn’t appear to be a top priority for billionaire philanthropists.

Wealthy donors say they donate the most money to education; health; and arts, culture and sports, according to a new report from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Campden Wealth. “Despite increasing global concern for climate change, the environment receives a scant 8% of the giving portfolios in this survey,” the authors said in a statement.

A global alliance of 11,000 scientists recently warned “clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” and a 2017 Government Accountability Office report estimated that extreme weather and fire events had cost the U.S. government $350 billion over the previous decade.

The Rockefeller report was based on a survey of 201 families in 28 countries with an average wealth of $1.2 billion. The families gave an average of $12 million each to various causes over the last 12 months.

The authors cautioned, however, that the 8% figure for environmental causes may not represent all of the funding these donors devote to climate change. For example, some donations to universities — which would fall into the “education” category — could be money to research climate change, said Melissa Berman, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Read the full article about causes the 1% likes to give to by Leslie Albrecht at MarketWatch.