Sir Bob Geldof Reveals His Revelation

By Mark Hrywna

Returning to the city where he wrote “I Don’t Like Mondays” and first performed with the Boomtown Rats, Sir Bob Geldof explained to thousands of fundraisers the importance of philanthropy as a function of social change.

Geldof, who received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth for his humanitarian efforts, was the plenary speaker yesterday and delivered the Maurice G. Gurin Lecture on Philanthropy at the 45th annual Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) International Conference of Fundraising in San Diego.

The force behind such landmark events as the Live Aid concerts to benefit Ethiopia and the Live8 shows, Geldof described the profound differences in philanthropy between nations like the United Kingdom and the United States. “We’re in the same game, but we’re different.”

In the U.K., private giving accounts for less than 1 percent of the Gross National Product, compared to more than 2 percent in the United States while the aid to Africa accounts for nearly 5 percent in the U.K. but only 0.17 percent in the U.S. “We look to government, you look to individuals,” Geldof told fundraisers.

While charity concerts have been around for years, Geldof has redefined them as humanitarian efforts, AFP Chair Timothy Burcham said in introducing the native of Ireland.

Geldof, whose “Do They Know It’s Christmas” album sold three million copies to combat hunger in Ethiopia, started helping the homeless in his hometown of Dublin at age 15. It was while he was at home in Chelsea in October 1984 when a realization put his own “pathetic problems in perspective”: the thought of 30 million people in Ethiopia starving.

“If one person did OK out of Live Aid, for me it was worth it,” Geldof said, one of several times during his hour-long remarks that drew applause from the thousands of fundraisers in attendance. He also dropped the “F-bomb” multiple times throughout the talk. In recent years, Geldof has worked on behalf of forgiving the debt owed by African nations to industrialized counties.

“Our culture derives from individualism,” Geldof said. “When it works really well is when we work in concert individually.” Charity is vital, he said, as it is one individual saying to another, “Here’s my hand, let me help.”

But the difference between policy and charity, Geldof explained, was that charity raised $200 million for Africa, but policy was more like $50 billion a year, thanks to industrialized nations forgave the debts of African countries.