Controversy in the Philanthropic Community Around NBC's "The Philanthropist"

Posted by
Molly Schar
Aug 26, 2009

Whenever you take a story mainstream, I think, you're going to have to make some compromises. Taking the story of Bobby Sager and the Sager Family Traveling Foundation and Roadshow and turning it into a sexy small screen drama-adventure has required some tradeoffs.

Most in the philanthropic community agree that Bobby Sager's story is a great one. Here's an enormously rich and successful businessman who retires and takes his wife and two children around the world to walk in the shoes of others and find ways to partner with those in need to support their solutions.

Where the controversy comes into play is in the depiction of Teddy Rist, Sager's television alter ego on "The Philanthropist." This guy is trying to mix business and philanthropy, coughing up cash to "rescue" people who cross his path. He's not a bad guy. But he's certainly no Bobby Sager.

Steve Gunderson, the president and CEO of the Council on Foundations released a statement denouncing the show when it debued, saying "very little ... conveys the reality of philanthropy."

Jeff Trexler, a professor of social entreprenuership at Pace University blogged that the show promotes neocolonialism.

Deborah Richardson, chief program officer at the Women's Funding Network, wrote in a Huffington Post article "Philanthropists are not those who show up "just in time" to rescue people in need. Philanthropists are each of us with a love for humanity and justice, who leverage our relationships, spheres of influence, the internet, and money -- whether it's $10, $100, $1,000 or more -- for lasting change."

But, blogged Sean Stannard-Stockton, the director of tactical philanthropy for a wealth management firm that serves philanthropists, "It’s a fun TV show. Let’s enjoy it and be glad that once a week American TV audiences will hear the voice over proclaim “The Philanthropist!” as if that’s actually something fun and exciting instead of the idea of philanthropy as a boring, stuffy, serious thing that no sane person would want to be involved in."

What do you think?