Revolutionising Welfare

- Walter Mariotti

Some people are involved in philanthropy, others listen to their hearts but all told there are thousands of people who make donations; even normal people who are not rich, the ones we call “little Bill Gates”, who quietly donate hundreds of thousands of euros. We know many people like this. Foundations like Cariplo join reason and feeling: although the spirit is inspired by solidarity or altruism, the method is always rigorous, professional, contemporary and dictated by reason; precise strategic decisions and a clear sense of managerial skill is required. The ever-lacking resources should be spent well in order to affect the situation, otherwise it is just charity; of course charity works, too, but philanthropy is quite different; it has shown that today, if it weren’t for the foundations with their mission of social innovation and their resources, we would have piles of blank pages representing all the projects we wouldn’t be able to organise. Foundations and the no-profit sector are now substituting for the state.