Bill Clinton's Humanitarian Focus

Sept. 25, 2007 — -- Former President Bill Clinton kicked off his third annual Clinton Global Initiative summit in New York Wednesday, rubbing shoulders with current and former heads of state like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Hollywood star turned global activist Angelina Jolie.

Launched in 2005, the Clinton Global Initiative is a nonprofit run by the former president's charitable foundation -- the William J. Clinton Foundation -- billing itself as a results-oriented body coordinating private-sector solutions to global problems like climate change, global health epidemics, poverty, income inequality and lack of education.

"We are faced with complex problems that government either is not solving, or that government alone cannot," Clinton said Wednesday morning during the opening session of the three-day conference at the Sheraton Hotel in New York.

"We have to find ways to devote more time, money, skills, and organization building so that we can help more people and save more lives," Clinton said.

Clinton Nonprofit Attracting Who's Who in Global Giving

Only the who's who of global philanthropy and business are invited to attend the annual three-day brainstorming session.

This year's event has attracted 1,300 people from 72 countries, including 52 current and former heads of state, celebrities, business leaders and aid workers.

Attendance costs $15,000 per person, though most charities are exempt. Membership in Clinton's elite philanthropic club comes with an even bigger price and a global charge: invited guests must make good on their pledges. Those who do not are asked not to come back.

So far that strategy appears to be working. Only five people who paid their membership fee to attend this year were refunded their money and asked not to come because of unfulfilled promises. That number is down from 17 people last year who were asked not to attend.

Philanthropists say Clinton's group's results-oriented approach is having a major influence on other nonprofits.

"They are important in both what they are doing and in their influence," said Stacy Palmer, editor of the the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the industry journal. "If they can transform the pace of other donors and philanthropies and governments that will make a major difference."

Clinton's Humanitarian Efforts Helped Transform His Image

Clinton has said he established the Clinton Global Initiative after spending many years in office frustrated with the government's slow progress on solutions to global problems.

Clinton's charitable efforts appear to have tapped into a millenial wave of "corporate citizenship," the notion that businesses and individuals, not just governments, should attempt to solve social problems.

Clinton has been making the media rounds promoting his latest effort: the book "Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World," which extolls the virtues of volunteering money and time to worthy causes.

Clinton's focus on humanitarian issues is in many ways the perfect balance to his wife's political ambitions -- and also repairs the damage done to his reputation by the Monica Lewinsky scandal during his presidency, helping to transform the former president's legacy into one of an elder statesman dedicated to global issues.

"It's a given that if you speak and raise money in large quantities for these causes that some type of benefit will run down to you," said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at Brookings Institution.

But Hess said, "It's too glib to say that suddenly he has a glorious image now. He's still a politician with some history that has to be overcome."

Making a Difference?

There are signs Clinton's two-year-old nonprofit is doing some good in the world.

"More than 600 commitments have been made by hundreds and hundreds of participants in these CGI sessions, impacting tens of millions of lives in more than a hundred different countries," Clinton told the opening session Wednesday.

The Clinton Foundation said it has helped more than 857,000 children under 5 years old gain access to lifesaving medical treatment like vaccines. They also say that by the end of 2007, they will have helped 34 million to get treatment for tropical diseases, and help over 3.2 million people in the developing world gain access to clean energy services.

However, there have been setbacks. A 2006 commitment to create a green fund to raise up to $1 billion to support renewable energy investments that was to be managed by former World Bank President James Wolfensohn did not go anywhere.

Palmer said it's too early to say whether Clinton's group is making a difference, but said "it definitely shows the signs of a potentially massive effort."

"There's a lot more money and a lot more expertise going into this than you usually see at an organization that has really been only operating for a couple of years," Palmer said. "All the signs are very positive that they really are making a difference but we really won't know for quite a few years because these are long-term problems."

The foundation has set its sights on inspiring Asian philanthropy as economies from China and India continue to grow. Clinton is planning to hold a philanthropic summit next year in Hong Kong to to keep climate change, health and poverty on the agenda in rapidly developing nations.

Clinton's foundation has also launched a new Web site -- www.mycommitment.org -- to connect volunteers who want to do good in their communities with ideas and resources. Clinton will also begin to target U.S. college and university students to inspire them to get involved with the Clinton Global Initiative.