The Philanthropy Index measures and reflects the commitment of individual philanthropists from Europe, the Middle East and the Asia in terms of three main criteria: the amounts given, innovation and the effort invested to promote their causes

BNP Paribas Wealth Management has launched a first of its kind Individual Philanthropy Index which measures and reflects the commitment of individual philanthropists from Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The index takes into account three main criteria: the amounts given, innovation and the effort devoted by philanthropists to promote their causes. The index is based on a survey of more than 300 High Networth Individuals (at least $5 million in assets under management) in those three regions and was conducted by Forbes Insights between January and March 2013.

The BNP Paribas Individual Philanthropy Index is accompanied by a Forbes Insights report, which provides analysis and background, as well as personal stories of some of the world's greatest philanthropists.

Key findings

Motivations for giving vary vastly by region, and they are embedded in regional cultures and histories, according to the BNP Paribas Individual Philanthropy Index.

• • In Europe, it's equally family legacy, altruistic desire and a sense of duty (17% each).
• • In Asia, it's the desire to give back to society (25%).
• • In the Middle East, religious faith is the top motivation (63%)

Most philanthropists are very involved while being very discreet

• • 77% of survey respondents said that they either insist on remaining anonymous or do not actively publicize their charity
• • A third of all survey respondents say that they give 15% or more of their annual income to charity. 17% intend to leave 30% or more of their fortune to charity.
• • The more philanthropists have, the more they give.

Philanthropists under the age of 30 are:

• • Much more likely to be motivated by personal experience in choosing area of focus (20%)
• • Much less likely to be motivated by religion (17.5%)
• • More generous (17.5% give at least 25% of annual income to charity)
• • Likely to more actively promote philanthropy (45%)
• • More likely to promote causes on social media (82.5%)

Methodology of the Index

The index includes four weighted components: Current Giving (weighted at 30%), Projected Giving (20%), Promotion (25%) and Innovation (25%).

Current Giving (max score = 30) reflects the percentage of annual income respondents said they give to philanthropy on average.

Projected Giving (max score = 20) reflects the percentage of total fortune they plan to eventually contribute.

Promotion (max score = 25) reflects the extent to which respondents strive to publicize their charitable causes.

Innovation (max score = 25) reflects the extent to which respondents said their philanthropic efforts take a results-oriented, entrepreneurial approach, with an emphasis on quantitative metrics, cost-effectiveness, sustainability of beneficial effects and replicability.

Worldwide philanthropy is an ongoing process, and just as the report was being written the latest news in individual giving came from India, where tech tycoon Azim Premji officially announced he’d signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Premji also announced that he is donating $2.2 billion, or a 12% stake in his IT outsourcer Wipro, to a trust to fund his education-focused Azim Premji Foundation.