With Prizeo, celebrities can tap their broader fanbase (not just the fabulously rich) for donations, then offer prizes for their help.
And why should the government subsidize donations by the rich more than donations by the poor?
Amir Attaran, a Harvard academic, calculates that rich-country donations to the cause have stagnated, at $100m annually, if private donors such as the Wellcome Trust are excluded.Cheap and effectiveWhether Dr Attaran is right or not, the sums so far committed fall far short of what is needed.
Today's rich are making donations to universities that yesterday's rich set up in the first place.
Many temples have grown rich from the donations of villagers, and a number spend that money on public works, like planting trees or building a school, as a means of honoring gods or ancestors.
But with Democrats and Republicans both aiming to raise upwards of $750 million by the time the election is done, the President will also be busy doing what all of his recent predecessors have done: hitting up rich people for donations.
At the same time the Tories have also been damaged by appearing to be the party of the rich, supported by donations from hedge funds, defenders of the non-dom status, offering tax breaks to a minority at the top and bearing down oppressively on people who need to rely on benefits at the bottom.
Even if they have the best of intentions (and most don't), they're at a significant competitive disadvantage to their non-profit peers: they have to pay taxes, don't benefit from rich endowments and donations, and generally don't own millions of dollars worth of real estate free and clear: their cost of capital is far, far higher than non-profits.
She has no rich backers – the biggest donation she has taken is £3,000 – and has spent nothing on posters or advertisements.
will this earthquake make some Chinese government (local or federal) officials rich with all the donation which is supposed to be used for the people in hit area?
