Philanthropy and Guernsey
Philanthropy is a bit like the sun: easier to identify than to describe. Many people think it is about
meeting basic social needs, especially in cases where these are not met by the market or by the
government. But philanthropy is more than this. It is about private initiatives – whether by individuals
or associations of individuals – aimed at the public good.
The best known examples therefore involve two elements. One, voluntary actions by voluntary
associations. And two, innovations which transform society. All the great reform movements – antislavery, women’s suffrage, civil rights, peace movements, the environment – began as voluntary
associations.
It is no surprise that philanthropy tends to focus on relatively rich people. They are the ones who can
afford to take risks and try new ways of doing things. But just as we value the sun for its use rather than
its height, we don’t respect rich people for their money, we respect them for the uses to which they put
it.
The particular case of Guernsey is illuminating in this respect, because the wealth of its residents has
grown so rapidly since World War II, making it now one of the richer places on Earth. But the island is
even more interesting because it created two distinct housing markets which quickly became
distinguishable on the basis of their occupants’ wealth.
The so-called Open Market comprised some 1,500 houses and was open to outsiders. The remaining
houses – which with new construction now number some 19,000 – were reserved principally for ‘locals’
and for certain skilled outsiders allowed in for a finite period under licence.
As long as Guernsey remains determined not to change its low-tax arrangements, it is an attractive place
for wealthy outsiders to live, and the Open Market is like a magnet to them. Identifiable by their
houses, Open Market residents have over the years come to recognise their privileged position and
many have become important donors to local charities.
Thus, individuals like the late Florian Carr, an American with regular dividends from a large shareholding
in the Pennysylvania Railroad Company -- at that time one of the world’s largest publicly-traded
corporations - was able to give to the local National Trust the beautiful Regency house called Brockhurst
on the Grange, which is the best known street in the main town of St Peter Port. She also helped
countless persons unable to pursue their chosen careers through personal hardship. Few beneficiaries
knew she was the benefactor, because she worked through a trusted intermediary.
The Whittaker Family is another example. At the St James Concert and Assembly Hall, their splendid
donation ensured that fund-raising for the nearby Dorey Centre was completed. The project gave the
Hall, one of Guernsey’s architectural treasures, a further lease of life some twenty years after it was first
rescued from desecration by the planners.
Guernsey’s experience of giving has been corporate as well as personal. A remarkable instance in recent
times saw the international banking group Credit Suisse contribute £300,000 towards the purchase of an
MRI scanner for the main local hospital.
The giving is small-scale as well as large. For example, there is an informal group of no more than 30
people in the island who meet regularly to discuss specific instances of hardship and, after chipping in
their cash contributions, make awards without seeking any publicity. Known as The Purchasers, they
have been operating for decades, sometimes pursuing causes they identify themselves, sometimes
working through parish Procureurs of the Poor -- another notable Guernsey institution in the
extraordinary world of charity.
The point is, it is the spirit of giving that counts. Local Guernsey people have a strong tradition of giving,
and indeed of community participation generally. The fact that it is an island of just 60,000 plainly helps.
Even more remarkable is the fact that it has more than 250 registered charities. A glance at the vast
spectrum of sporting, cultural, community and religious groups is enough to see that gregariousness is a
distinguishing feature of the Guernsey character.
More importantly, giving in Guernsey is not confined to the rich helping the poor. Rather it often
represents the benevolence of ordinary people who can identify and fulfil civic needs not met by the
government. The salvaging of St James in the early 1980s was just such a case.
The fact that the Guernsey arms of UK charities are regularly cited as their best fund-raisers
corroborates the point – and that in turn makes all the more poignant the breaks which have occurred
between the Guernsey and UK arms of key charities, notably the NSPCC, the Alzheimer’s Society and the
WRVS.
Guernsey’s ‘ordinary’ people are indisputably better off financially now than their parents and
grandparents were before them, largely because of the rapid growth of the offshore finance sector and
the spin-off benefits of its success. The upshot ought to be that we see the emergence of ‘new
philanthropists’: individuals, often self-made, who have become unexpectedly wealthy through business
and are prepared to give - not just their money, but also their time and their expertise.
Such people should be encouraged to pursue voluntary acts of giving - recognising, as Martin Luther King
once said, that however commendable philanthropy is, it should not cause the philanthropist to
overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make it necessary.
One way of promoting such activity might be through more formal channels of advice – something the
Guernsey Community Foundation can do. For all the tradition of giving in Guernsey, there is a surprising
shortage of such advice, especially on how to ensure the impact of a donation is maximised. Just as
important, charities which seek funds often need advice themselves about how to raise them. Many
forget that the final choice always resides with the giver, and that what they are entering is a
partnership, not a transaction, hopefully for the longer-term.
Additional encouragement might come through a friendly tax regime. Currently, individuals (but not
companies) making a donation to a charity of between £500 and £5,000 in any year will see their
donation grossed up with a payment to the charity equivalent to the 20% which the individual paid as
income tax. This means if you make a donation of £1,000, the charity will actually see £1,250. On the
other hand individuals receive no deduction of their own income tax on donations they make, as in the
US. We should not be surprised, therefore, that giving is more common in the US. No matter: it is the
inclination of individuals towards civic responsibility which matters.