The Government is being urged to introduce new tax benefits for Irish charities in order to encourage an American-style "culture of philanthropy" in the State.
The Community Foundation for Ireland (CFI), a charitable trust which raises funds largely through high-wealth individuals, said philanthropy was "still in its infancy" in Ireland compared to the US and UK, and this was partly due to a scarcity of tax incentives for donors.
Ms Tina Roche, chief executive of the foundation, said the Government should follow the example of the US where philanthropists can get tax relief during their lifetime on money which they agree to bequeath to charities on their death.
"There are 15,000 millionaires in Ireland today, and 10 per cent are major multimillionaires. Yet we are still a long way behind the US in terms of philanthropy," she said.
"In fact, research in Ireland shows that the poorer you are the more you give as a percentage of your wealth to charity. The richer you are the less you give as a percentage. Making philanthropy more tax efficient could help to turn that around."
Ms Roche was speaking during the visit to Dublin yesterday of an international delegation of philanthropic fund managers.
As well as exchanging information on the "community foundation" movement, the fund managers visited a number of projects supported by CFI, including the Irish Chinese Information Centre and the Fatima Majorettes.
Mr Steve Mittenthal, president of the Arizona Community Foundation, which has earned $400 million (€313 million) in charitable bequests from a population of five million, said the tax structure in the US "encourages charitable giving throughout your lifetime. Tax may not be the decisive factor in all cases of philanthropy but it can be a major factor."
He noted that a new type of "venture philanthropist" had emerged in the US recently who wished to be more involved in his or her donations and even "sit on the board of charities rather than just sign a cheque".
He added: "I think Ireland will see similar types of philanthropists emerge here with the new generation of wealth."
Since its establishment three years ago, the CFI has created an endowment fund of €4.2 million, from which grants of €800,000 have been allocated.
Ms Roche said that as well as creating new tax incentives for charitable bequests on death, the Government should extend tax relief to assets donated to charity in a person's lifetime.
